Forest of Darkness
by AbbyF809
Summary: This story is an AU about Jane and Maura as young children. They meet by chance and get into trouble (of course:)) when they witness a crime and are forced to run away.
1. Prologue

Hey guys.

I am fairly new to the Rizzoli&Isles Fandom, but I really love this show and I had this idea for a story stuck in my head...soooo...I hope you dont mind me sharing:)

I guess you wont really understaand what the story is about from this Prologue but bare with me and I will update soon:)

 **Disclaimer** : Rizzoli&Isles is not mine and I dont earn any money with this story. It's just for fun:)

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Prologue

Her birthday had been two days ago and she'd been almost fainting all week long before the big day, knowing that for once her parents knew exactly what she had wished for. For once she had been brave enough to voice her biggest wish, earning a pat on the head and a quick smile. The happiness had tickled her belly and the closer her birthday had come, the more this ball of light had expended and warmed her whole body. A day before her birthday she had gone to school with a smile on her face and even though the name-calling hadn't been any different than usually, it didn't seem to be as painful as all the other times. Going to bed had been a new experience all together as well. The excitement hadn't allowed her to fall asleep and she laid in bed for exactly an hour and thirty-two minutes before her eyelids finally drifted close.

In the morning, her alarm clock had woken her up precisely at five thirty, to her outmost delight she could hear her parents already talking in the living room. They obviously had landed earlier than expected. Trying to contain the giddiness inside of her, she went into her bathroom, prepared herself for the day and even tied a pretty, pink bow around her neat ponytail. Slowly and as calm as possible she had walked out of her room and entered the living room, finding her parents lounging on the pristine white sofa they had bought in Italy last summer.

"Darling." Her mother's calm voice had drifted over to her and she had beamed at the woman.

"Mother. Welcome home."

She nodded in greeting at her father who stood up and walked up to her.

"We have a surprise for you, darling."

Her heart had sped up, redness starting to rise up into her cheeks from the excitement she could barely contain. Her eyes had fallen on the glass table and she had taken in the prettily wrapped box. Shouldn't there be holes in it so that the air could go in? her brain had asked but her quick pulse and the happiness had clouded her rational thinking. Stepping up to the table and looking back at her parents, she had politely asked for permission to open the gift. Receiving an elegant nod from her mother, she had started to unwrap the box. When the tight fitting lid upon the box had opened, she had peered in, her smile disappearing.

"Do you like it, Maura?" her father had questioned, stepping into her peripheral vision.

"Of course, father." She had whispered and pulled her gift out of the box. The little watch was obviously studded with small diamonds and glistening in the light.

"Don't you want to try it on?" her mother had asked, but Maura's thoughts had been already somewhere completely else.

 _Diamond is a mineral and a cubic modification of carbon. It is the hardest natural substance and can be found in different shapes like…_

"Darling, don't let us wait, we are exceptionally tired after our journey." Her fathers request had made her look up and slowly slide the watch onto her thin wrist.

 _That doesn't feel soft. It doesn't come to me to cuddle and it definitely does not purr._

tbc...(obviously)

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I'd be happy for some feedback although I know that there is nothing much to say yet:) Oh and P.S. I dont have a beta and English is not my first language!


	2. Chapter 1

Thank you so much for your kind words and taking the time to review:) It made my day.

So here coomes the first chapter and dont worry, the chapters will get longer for sure;)

 **Disclaimer:** Rizzoli & Isles is not mine (See Prologue for details)

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Chapter 1

"MA!"

The yell rang like a church bell through the two-store house and was answered with an equally loud "JANE! I TOLD YOU NOT TO YELL LIKE THAT."

The middle aged, attractive woman stepped into the small living room and looked scornfully at her black-haired daughter. "What will the neighbors think?" she asked, but her daughter knew that it was a rhetorical question. They were Italians. They were lively. They were charming. Jane smiled. The Rizzoli family was loud and the neighbors knew and accepted that. So Jane ignored her mother's question and pointed at the corner of the room.

"Look, Ma, the kitties are starting to walk."

Jane's mother immediately walked up to her daughter and stared at what her daughter was pointing at. On a very soft, pink pillow lay their two year old reddish cat, surrounded by five colorful kittens. Two of them were getting to their feet and starting to toddle unsteadily away from their mother and siblings.

"That's Barnie and Claire." Jane informed her mother proudly and clapped her hands. "Aren't they cute? I told you Claire would be a real trooper."

"You only said that because she is black." Her mother joked and walked closer to the kittens, catching one in each hand and lifting them up, cooing at them.

"Ma…would you stop talking to them as if they are babies?" Jane said and twisted her face into a grimace. She'd always disliked her mother using baby talk.

"They are." The matter of fact answer her mother gave was nothing new to Jane.

Rolling her dark eyes, she swooped a thick lock of curls from her face and sighed. She would love to take the kittens out and show them to her friends soon. She knew they couldn't keep all of them and maybe some of her friends would actually want to take one or two.

Jane watched her mother put the kittens back to their mother and straighten up.

"Come on, Jane. You can help me cook dinner." She smiled at her daughter and patted her head while walking past her and already anticipating the protest.

"But Maaaa….you know I hate cooking!"

But like her mother knew that she would protest, Jane knew that her mother wouldn't let her get out of kitchen duty.

 _A few miles away…_

Maura was sitting on the white windowsill of the library and looked down on the streets of Beacon Hill. The thick book in her lap forgotten and teetering dangerously on her knees. She could see children walking down the streets, talking to each other animatedly and Maura sadly smiled at them. Finally looking down onto the book she had stopped reading almost half an hour ago, she turned the page and started reading again.

 _Street cats can be found in every country around the world and are getting increasingly into the focus of animal rights activists. Often almost starved and infested with fleas and other parasites, most of the kittens born on the streets don't make it through the first year of their life…_

Maura felt tears gathering in her eyes. Maybe not getting a kitty from her parents had been a sign to actually go out and rescue one. At least one. She could almost see the sad eyes of a kitten in front of her, pleading to take her home and love her and care for her. Be there for her.

Within seconds her brain had made the decision.

Hopping off the seat, her feet touching the soft white carpet, Maura looked around the room and started to create a mental checklist of what she would need for her adventure. She had a few more hours before bedtime and her parents would be flying to Paris the next morning, so it shouldn't be too hard to sneak out of the house after lunch. Grace, the family's maid, would surely not pay too much attention to her.

Swallowing the still prickling tears in her eyes, Maura produced a small smile and walked deeper into the library, picking her school bag up along the way.

tbc...


	3. Chapter 2

Hey there:)

My, I was sooooo overwhelmed by all the great reviews!THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! you really made my days!

Now...let's start with the next chapter:)

Hope you'll have fun!

 **Disclaimer:** Rizzoli & Isles are not mine. For details, see Prologue!

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Chapter 2

The new day woke Jane from a deep sleep with an unrelenting ray of sunshine ticking her nose. With a huff, one dark eye popped open and a deep groan worked itself out of her chest, while she tried to roll over. The groan turned into a squeak when she felt a warm body next to her.

"Frankie!"

The little form started to move and before Jane had managed to turn around completely, a dark haired head appeared from under a pillow.

"Good morning." A high-pitched voice greeted her and her baby brother's sleepy brown eyes greeted her cheerfully. With an exasperated sigh, Jane threw herself back onto her back, shaking her head in defeat.

"I told you not to crawl into my bed when I am not awake." She explained to Frankie as calmly as possible and waited for her brother's reaction. The last time this conversation ended in tears and her mother barging into her room not knowing whom to yell at first. She really hoped this time around it would go better.

Daring to look at her brother, she found him pouting at her and she had to admit that it was kind of cute.

"I mean really, Frankie. Why don't you want to sleep in your own bed?" she asked, rolling over onto her side, facing the young child.

After a few seconds of uncertain lip biting, the boy looked at her and answered.

"I am scared of the men."

"What men?" Jane couldn't think of anything or anyone that could actually scare her brother that much. She was the oldest out of three children and she was sure that if something had happened that was scary or even dangerous, she would have been informed. Jane thanked her lucky star though, when her brother started to talk again and she didn't have to guess or ask their mother.

"I dreamt about men coming into my room and taking me out of my bed. The dragged me out of the house."

For a minute Jane was silent, pondering why her brother would dream of something so absurd. Their parents were very careful when it came to TV watching and any kind of negative influence on their children's minds, so where did Frankie get this idea from?

"No one can hurt you in this house, Frankie." She finally explained and turned her head to be able to look him into his eyes. "Even if someone would come inside, I would never let them hurt you." Her tone didn't give any room for doubt or questioning and she was very much proud of herself when she saw her little brother give her a brighter than the sun smile and she couldn't contain a laugh when he threw his thin arms around her and hugged her.

"Ok, ok…you can let go now, Frankie." She finally huffed after a few minutes and when he drew back, Jane bumped her fist gently against his arm. "My my…for a seven year old you have quiet the strong grip."

Frankie giggled and stuck his tongue out at his sister.

"That's cause I am a boy and you a girl!" he told her and jumped up, rolling over his sister, running out of the room happily.

"Boy." Jane muttered, shaking her head. "And that you call a grateful little brother…NOT!"

Stretching her limbs out in all directions, Jane yawned wildly and smacked her lips when she was done. Hunger was starting to call her name and she decided to get up and find out if her mother had already prepared something for breakfast.

While she dressed herself, her mind wandered to her best friend she was supposed to meet this afternoon. Nora had promised to adopt two of the kittens, who were now all able to walk. Jane had pleaded with her mother to keep at least three of them, but her parents had finally agreed to only one. Jane had not been able to choose between Claire and Barnie, so she had decided a week ago that she would simply let her friends decide which kitten they wanted and it would be simply fate which one would stay with the Rizzoli's.

With one last look into the mirror and a satisfied grin at her reflection, Jane made her way out of her room and down the creaking stairs into the living room, where she greeted the cat family first and then her mother, whom she spotted sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee.

"Hey Ma, is breakfast ready? I am starving!"

When Jane saw her mother's glare, she already knew the day had started on its wrong foot. The very long monologue that followed about her tomboyish clothes was something that Jane had learned to blend out with ease. So she sat at the table, watching the kittens play in their crate and tried to guess which two babies would be gone in a few hours.

 _A few kilometers away…_

Maura clutched the straps of her bag pack in her fists and kept her gaze mostly on the pavement in front of her. She's been walking down this streets numerous times in the past already but knowing that now she was doing it without permission was a whole different thing. It was exciting, yes, but also scary. She had planned the route she wanted to travel on yesterday very carefully and avoided all streets that were known as unsafe, but who could guarantee her that she wouldn't stumble upon a kidnapper who wanted to sell her as a slave like she had read the other day in an article? Or simply a bully, who would immediately see that she was different and the perfect target to beat up? Maura could feel the itching starting on her chest and she tried to suppress the urge to scratch. She needed to calm down, she told her herself and took a deep breath. She was only an hour away from her family's house and she was already panicking. What a wimp, Maura chided herself, closing her eyes to steady her breathing and thoughts. Spotting a little bench right at the edge of a small park, Maura suddenly felt the urge to eat one of her sandwiches. At home she hadn't been able eat her breakfast since she had been so very nervous about her upcoming adventure. Grace had frowned at her and asked if she felt alright, but hadn't bothered to inquire any further once Maura had assured her that she was indeed fine. So now, five hours later, she could feel her stomach growling at her with hunger. Cautiously, Maura walked up to the bench, looking around to make sure that no one wanted to sit at the same spot. When she was certain that she was the only one on the street, she pulled her bag from her back and sat next to it, starting to rummage through its contents to find the green box, which contained her sandwiches.

After a few seconds, Maura finally pulled out one of the sandwiches, and inspected it. It wasn't the first time she had made a sandwich for herself but it was the first time she used common cheese which she had bought on her way from school yesterday. Her keen, hazel eyes ran over the perfect square and the yellow cheese in-between and Maura simply couldn't explain why she was so proud of this.

The first bite was slow and she savored the texture of the cheese. Certainly harder than the ones their cooks were preparing for the family but the taste…so spicy…

Maura closed her eyes and forgot to count how often she chewed the small bite.

When she heard the footsteps coming closer, she abruptly opened her eyes and looked around, spotting a slightly older boy coming her way. Averting her gaze, trying not to draw any attention to herself, her hand started to tense around the green lunch box. When she saw the boys shadow stopping in front of her, her breath hitched and she tried to hold it. Maybe he wouldn't notice her if she was really quiet.

"Hey you."

The boys voice wasn't too mean sounding, but also not really polite. Thinking feverishly about her options, Maura decided to look up and squeeze out a quiet "Hello."

The boys blue eyes narrowed and he looked her up and down, frowning slightly.

"Ya not from here, are ya?"

"I live in Boston." Maura responded, not seeing any reason to lie at that point. Her sandwich that she had bitten into a minute ago found its way back into the box, while her gaze didn't leave the boys face, aware of any hostile change that might take place in his features.

"I mean..." he growled. "…you are not from Charlestown."

Maura felt heat rising from her belly and her hands started to tremble. With one hand she grasped for her bag pack and stood up.

"I…I was searching f-for on the streets living Felis silvestris catus."

"What?" The boy snorted. "How old are you? Eighty?

"Ehm…" Maura was aware he was making fun of her, but she couldn't help but correct his assumption. "I-I am eight, actually."

"Really?" he smirked at her and came a few steps closer. "Couse…you seem kind of… strange for eight."

Maura shrank back and felt her pulse quicken. Her trembling fingers tightened even further around the lunch box, until her knuckles turned white.

"What's up? You scared?"

When Maura registered his arm rising, her instincts, which she had learned to trust after three years of being bullied in school, took over…

And she ran.

She almost didn't feel it when the lunch box slipped out of her fingers and gravity pulled it towards the ground, the sandwich she had been so proud of falling onto the pebbled path.

But only almost.

tbc...

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I hope you liked the chapter and next chapter we will finally see the girls meeting:)


	4. Chapter 3

Hey guys:)

here comes the meeting!:) Dont expect anything too fluffy. Their kids, so they are...weird;) But no worries, fluff is on its way:)

 **Disclaimer:** See Prologue

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Chapter 3

"I think I'd like to keep those two." Nora said and pointed at a reddish and brown kitten. "What did you call them?"

Jane smiled and picked the two babies up.

"This one." She said and held the reddish one up. "is called Rudy and the other one is Brownie."

Nora giggled and tickled Brownie under his chin.

"Those are really cool names, Jane. Did you come up with them on your own?"

"Nah." Jane admitted, handing the kittens back to Nora. "My brothers helped a bit. But Rudy was all my idea." She proudly said and shuffled her legs into a cross-legged position. Watching her friend cuddle the kittens, Jane knew they would have a wonderful home with her. Her friend's brown, thick hair was flying in the wind and Jane was slightly jealous of her straight glossy strands. Her own hair was unruly and almost impossible to comb through in the morning and evening- IF she even attempted it.

"Do you want to come over tomorrow to watch some movies?" Jane asked hopefully, curling hair around her finger and patting one of the other kittens.

"I can't." Nora murmured into Brownies fur. "My mom wants to take me shopping for the kittens."

"Oh."

Jane's lips stayed pulled in a smile, but her mood plummeted a few degrees downwards. It wasn't as if Jane didn't have any other friends, but she considered Nora to be her best friend but somehow she expected a different behavior from a best friend. Jane scratched a scab on her elbow and frowned. Maybe she had too high expectations or maybe every person had to search for their best friend just like for ones soulmate that she had read about in a novel the other day.

"Jane? Were you listening?"

"Huh?"

Nora glared at her and shook her head.

"I need to go now, Jane. Mom just arrived."

Jane only nodded and followed her friend to her feet and into the house. And in fact, Nora's mother was standing in the Rizzoli kitchen and was talking to Jane's mom. Smiling, Jane greeted the woman and patted the two kittens in her friends arm for the last time.

"Nora wants to take Brownie and Rudy." Jane informed both mothers, smiling.

The mothers nodded and smiled back while Nora let the two kittens walk one by one into the pink crate her mom had brought with her.

"I am sure Nora will take good care of them, Jane" Nora's mom told Jane and shook her hand in what seemed gratitude. "She had a kitten on her wish list for Christmas last year, didn't you sweetheart?"

"Yes." Nora nodded. "But I didn't like the ones we had looked at and decided to wait for the perfect ones."

Just when the gridded crate-door closed, the people in the kitchen were startled by a metallic crash in the garden.

"What the…?" Jane's mom muttered and squeezed past her daughter and her friend, walking right up to the window and looking through it.

"For god's sake. The darn neighbor's dog knocked the trash can over again." Sighing, she stepped back from the window.

"Jane, can you please go and pick the mess up?"

Knowing that there were other people than her mother in the room, Jane only nodded, waving a quick bye to Nora and her mother.

"See ya soon, Nora."

Nora waved back, picking up the crate with the two kittens inside.

Being the oldest was fun. Some of the time. But why did she always have to get the chores that no one wanted to do. Frankie was old and strong enough to come down and straighten up the trash can's or at least to help her.

Strolling slowly over the yellowish grass in their small garden and past the small enclosure she had built for the kittens, Jane finally reached the toppled can's and started putting them up when she heard something rustling in the bush next to her. For a second she was standing there, not moving or breathing, only trying to listen harder. When the sound came again, Jane whirled around and narrowed her eyes in annoyance.

"If this is you Jade, I am so going to tell Mr. Graham not to give you any treats for the next few weeks."

When there was no wild barking from the golden Labrador she was expecting to charge at her in happiness, Jane frowned.

"Jade?"

No sound again and Jane was beginning to get seriously creeped out, but calling for her mom was not an option and her curiosity was getting the best of her. Slowly she walked to the edge of the brush and reached for the branches, parting them and peering into the hole that was created.

"Whoa…" she yelped and sprang back, letting go of the branches. Holding on to her heart with one hand, she tried to get her breathing under control.

"What are you doing in there?" she snapped, straightening her body again.

"I…I'm sorry." A small voice floated from the brush and with a little rustle, the small form of a blond girl appeared. "I didn't mean to scare you or make the bin's fall over."

Jane gaped at her and couldn't help herself but giggle. When she saw the hurt look on the girls face and her head lowering, Jane clamped down on the giggles and reached out her hand to the obviously younger and slightly uncomfortable girl. Jane didn't miss the slight flinch when she reached for he girl, but didn't comment on it.

"I didn't mean to laugh at you. The situation was just…" she didn't end the sentence but titled her head to look into the girls hazel eyes.

"Hey?" she cooed softly. "You ok? What are you doing in our bushes anyway?" Looking the girl up and down and back up, Jane scoffed good-naturedly. "You don't really strike me as the tomboyish hiding-in-the-brushes-for-fun type of girl."

The blonde-haired girl blushed furiously and looked down at herself.

"Well…uhm…I am not…really." Stuttering usually wasn't something Maura did, at least when she was answering her teachers or parents, but when it came to socializing she found herself doing so many strange things. Embarrassing things. When Maura realized that the girl was still watching her, obviously waiting for an explanation, she sighed and started talking again with now a controlled tone. Just like she learned from her mother.

"I was trying to avoid a very uncomfortable confrontation."

Jane looked around bewildered and then back at the girl.

"With who?"

"Whom." Maura corrected her absentmindedly, not even noticing the look the dark haired girl threw her. "I find myself objected to bullying a lot, so I wasn't too surprised when a boy found me eating my sandwich and started talking to me."

Jane tried not to let her jaw drop in surprise, hearing the small girl talk like an adult. It was somehow odd, almost creepy, but also somewhat cute. The girl in front of her was at least a head shorter than Jane herself. Her honey-blond, shoulder length hair was cut stylishly shorter in the front and was glistening healthily in the sun. Before Jane could even further analyze the girl's appearance, her voice registered with her.

"Bullying? A boy?"

"In fact, I was able to outrun him before I found out in which way he would like to ridicule me."

Jane stared at the girl, not knowing what to say really. This was really strange. Finally, the blonde started to straighten out her sun-yellow dress, which was knee length and looked just too expensive.

"I apologies again for intruding, but I need to go now." She said and after making sure there were no stains or rips in her dress, Maura shyly smiled at the older girl and started to walk past her.

"Hey." Jane called and caught her by her arm. "What's your name anyway?"

Not wanting to scare the girl, Jane smiled at her, waiting for the answer patiently.

"M-Maura."

Janes smile brightened even more and she turned Maura further to her, so that she could properly face her.

"I'm Jane."

The smile on Maura's face was small, but Jane felt it reach her heart like an arrow.

"How old are you, Maura?"

Maura mustered Jane carefully trying to detect the intention of this question but couldn't find anything that struck her as mean.

"I am eight."

Jane's brows rose high in surprise. She had seen that the girl was younger than she was but eight? She would have never guessed. What was this girl doing in this neighborhood on her own anyway? Didn't her parents know that it could be dangerous? Her mother would never let her brothers wander around alone.

"And how old are you?" Maura's voice broke her out of her thoughts and Jane smiled again.

"I am almost eleven. My birthday is in a few weeks."

An awkward silence spread around them and both girls stared intently at their feet.

"I really should go now." Maura murmured finally and gave Jane a small smile, being thrilled when she saw Jane smiling back.

"Alright. Take care, ok?"

Maura slowly walked to the pavement only a few feet away, but stopped abruptly when she heard the quiet but distinctive sound of a cat meowing.

When she looked back, she saw Jane already turned with her back to her and picking up a kitten from a metal enclosure. The wonder on Maura's young face was more than evident but her brain cut through her awe and reminded her that she had lost precious time while running away and hiding. Soon Grace would start cooking dinner and looking for Maura.

With a heavy heart, the girl turned and walked home, already missing talking to Jane and promising herself that this adventure was not ending yet.

tbc...

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I wanna thank you for all your reviews, favs and follows:) You are keeping me motivated, so please keep on telling me what ya think:)


	5. Chapter 4

Quiet quick update this time. I just didnt want to let you guys wait for too long, cause the next chapters will be slightly more angsty and will take a bit more time to write.

I hope you guys will enjoy this new chapter!

Let me know;)

 **Disclaimer:** R&I is not mine (see Prologue)

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Chapter 4

The days were getting colder now and it had happened so fast that Jane hadn't been able to register it before now. It had been only a week since she had found Maura in their bush and only one more kitten was left in their house now. Claire. Jane was happy that one of her favorites had stayed but it had been heartbreaking when she had to say goodbye to Barnie, who had found a great home with a classmate on a farm outside the city.

Pulling her thin sweater tighter around herself, Jane smiled when she saw Nora walking around the corner. Dressed casually in a plain pullover and jeans, the girl jumped over the puddles that had gathered in front of the Rizzoli property.

"Hey, how are you? I see you survived detention." Nora greeted her, also smiling brightly.

"Oh well… It was just this new nun and I...she's actually not that bad." Jane explained with a grin.

Half an hour later the two girls have taken out Claire into the garden and tried to teach her some tricks but for the moment were failing.

"I think cats are not able to learn those dog tricks." Nora finally concluded, but Jane disagreed immediately.

"Of course they are able to. They are just stubborn…"

Claire jumped up and down excitedly, trying to catch Jane's wriggling fingers, when Nora suddenly gasped.

"What?" Jane murmured without looking up, but when Nora didn't answer her and didn't move, she finally looked at her friend. Surprised she discovered that Nora was staring back at her and motioning with one finger at the far end of the garden.

"There is some creepy girl behind the bush, watching us."

Looking from her friend's concerned face, Jane focused on the bush behind her, but couldn't see anything.

"There's no one there, Nora."

Nora turned abruptly, as if she wanted to surprise the intruder, but she frowned when she in fact didn't find anyone behind her.

"Strange." She whispered.

Jane tried to suppress a smirk and went back to play with her cat. Creepy girl in the bushes…scoffing inwardly, she shook her head. Nora must have watched some more TV than she was supposed to.

"She really was there, Jane." Her friend suddenly said and was turning around, constantly checking if the girl would appear again.

"Relax." Jane sighed and looked up again. "How did she look like?" She asked Nora, trying to humor her, before her friend would get mad.

"Creepy."

"Creepy?" Jane asked incredulously. "What? Did she have green, hair, a long nose with a wart on it and a black, pointy hat?"

"Nooo…" Nora huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "She had blonde hair and actually looked…"

Jane's eyebrow lifted in surprise. Blonde? "Looked how?" she asked, curious now.

Nora was obviously searching for a word, and when she found one, it was the one Jane had hoped for and almost expected.

"Posh."

"Maura…" Jane whispered and a smile appeared on her lips.

"What?" Nora furrowed her brows at her friend.

"Nothing, nothing." Jane scrambled up to her feet, scooping Claire into her arms and started to walk in direction of the bushes.

"Jane. Are you crazy? You can't just go there. What if it was a mental kid who wants to…"

"Come on Nora. A little bit of adventure won't hurt you." Jane laughed and when she reached the bush in question and looked behind it, to her disappointment, she didn't find anyone.

"There's no one here." She informed Nora, when she joined her.

"Thank goodness." Nora sighed. "She was really creepy. She was kind of staring at us, you know?"

Jane patted the squirming cat in her arms and didn't answer. If it had been Maura watching them, Jane was sad that she hadn't trusted her enough to come up to them. On the other hand, Maura had mentioned something about being bullied and the presence of a girl Maura hadn't seen the last time in the Rizzoli garden, might easily have scared her off.

"Maybe she'll come back when we go back to playing again." Jane suggested hopefully.

"You want her to come back? Seriously?"

The shocked face of her friend, angered Jane. Why wouldn't she want to meet a new friend? Then she realized that she hadn't told her about her encounter with Maura yet. Somehow she felt like keeping it to herself and leaving it her and Maura's secret. Jane scoffed at herself. _You don't even know that girl, Jane. Stop behaving as if she is your friend._

Jane didn't answer Nora and simply went back to their playing spot and resumed her cat's training.

A day later…

Maura hid behind the fence of her family's house, observing Grace inviting a friend inside. It wasn't the first time that Maura saw her inviting friends over without permission when Maura's parents weren't home but until now they didn't do anything that would have made Maura snitch on her. She knew her parents were quiet strict, not only with their own daughter, but also with the employees and Maura understood why Grace was going behind their backs. Of course she wouldn't ever tell her that. She preferred to keep a distance to the employees, this way it wouldn't hurt so much when her parents decided to let one of them go or to move altogether.

Maura's fist tightened around her bag pack and she had to swallow the urge to cry. At least Grace had friends she could invite, even if it was in secret. Maura started to walk away slowly and her thoughts circled around the topic. She couldn't help herself but analyze her social situation. She didn't mind being alone at home, that gave her time to study and keep up with her parents expectations. But school was a completely different cup of tea. The bullying and name-calling didn't allow her to concentrate on the classes and that left her with even more time she needed to spend at home studying. Not that she minded the extra work at home. Especially when her parents were travelling and gone for several weeks. But why were they bullying her?

While walking through a park, Maura started to draw a mind map in her head, analyzing her own behavior, the reactions and actions that followed and she could draw only one conclusion. Although a lot smarter than her classmates, Maura wasn't able to say the right thing when someone started talking to her. Either some random information came out which didn't seem to interest anyone, or something painfully blunt. Though being honest, Maura was aware of the fact that most people hated hearing the truth, but she just couldn't understand why. Wasn't it beneficial for them to hear the truth and adjust whatever was wrong accordingly?

Maura frowned but at the same moment shook her head at herself in annoyance. What is the quickest and logical solution for her problem? Suddenly Maura stopped in her tracks and smiled. Silence. That was it. If she didn't comment on anything, they wouldn't get offended and therefore wouldn't make fun of her. When she started to walk again, she frowned again. How was she supposed to answer the questions the teachers asked? Oh well, certainly this could be an exception. Happy to have found a solution to her problem, Maura looked around and once again was disappointed when she didn't find any strolling cats. Where were all those thousands of street cats that were supposed to be living in the city?

Thinking about cats made Maura's thoughts automatically drift to Jane and her kittens. She didn't know if it were the cats or Jane herself that was pulling Maura to the house, making her watch from behind the bush. Jane was someone whom Maura would love to have as a friend. She seemed so confident and the girl she had seen yesterday with her seemed so comfortable in her presence. Maura sighed. Of course she was aware that someone like Jane would never chose to be her friend, but watching her secretly, seeing her smile and play with the cats, Maura had the feeling that this was the closest she had come to having a friend.

The next time she looked up from the pavement, Maura was surprised to see that she once again had wandered to Jane's house. For a second she debated with herself what she should do now, But the moment she heard Janes laugh coming from behind the bushes, Maura's decision was made. Slowly she crept closer and tiptoed around the bush, so that she was able watch Jane relatively hidden.

While Maura watched Jane and her friend play with the kitten again, she suddenly felt sadness overcome her.

Obviously, those girls didn't have too much money. Their clothes were slightly hanging on their thin forms, the colors were not matching their skin types and their hair was not even brushed most of the time. And still, they had cats and parents that brought them cookies and drove them to their friends. And most importantly, they had a friend.

She sniffled suddenly and unconsciously wiped away a lone tear that rolled down her cheek.

She felt herself freeze on the spot when her ears stopped hearing the joyful laughter and only silence surrounded her.

Xxxx

"Did you hear that?" Nora whispered, wiping her head around and grasping Janes arm. "There she is again." Her tone was fearful and Jane immediately jumped to her feet, shaking off Nora's hand from her arm. Raising her arms in front of her as if she wanted to show the girl behind the bush that she wouldn't hurt her, Jane started to inch her way towards her.

"Hey. Maura, right?"

Jane could see the girl's eyes widen in panic and hear Nora gasp behind her.

"It's ok." She softly said, daring to inch even closer. "Do you want to join us? We can play with my cat." Before Jane could do anything else, Nora grasped her arm again and whispered in her ear.

"Don't invite her. She could be dangerous."

"She's not." Jane whispered back, not looking away from the hazel eyes only a few more feet away from her.

"I'm gonna tell your mother." Nora told her, waiting for a second if Jane would change her mind, but when Jane smiled at the strange girl, Nora slowly walked backwards, back to the house.

Jane hoped that her Ma wouldn't come running out of the house, scaring Maura off, but until then, she would try to talk to the girl.

"You wanna pat Claire?" she asked holding the kitten out to Maura, whose eyes immediately softened and lost the panicked look when she saw the small animal. Her arm slowly reached out and the moment her fingers touched the soft fur an the kitten let out a loud purr, a small but bright smile danced across her lips, making Jane smile in relief.

"You don't have to be scared, you know?" she told the girl, watching her scratch the kitten behind the ears softly.

"I'm sorry. " Maura murmured, not looking up from the kitten. "I didn't mean to intrude or scare your friend." Her voice had gotten smaller and smaller and Jane could actually see the girl's shoudlers slumping.

"Nah…it's ok, Maura. You are welcome to join us. I'd like to get to know you."

Maura glanced at Jane's face but out of habit her eyes darted down again before answering.

"I am not…that interesting." The moment the words left her mouth, Maura cursed herself inwardly. Didn't she agree on keeping her mouth shut?

"What?" Jane asked surprised. "How…."

Before the sentence could leave Jane's mouth, both girls were startled by a door opening loudly and footsteps coming down the stairs.

"See Mrs. Rizzoli! She's talking to Jane! She has been stalking us for days now!" Nora's loud voice was like cold water poured on Maura's back and her eyes shot to the woman standing in the door, glaring at her and Jane.

"I….I am so sorry." Maura stammered, made a few steps back and Jane could see tears gathering in her eyes.

"Maur…"

But in the next blink of an eye, the girl had taken off and was running away from the situation. What she didn't count on though, was Jane following her.

tbc...

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Thank you to everyone who took the time to review ! You are the best!


	6. Chapter 5

Sorry for the long wait. Somehow this chapter was hard to write for me, but now it is done and I hope you will like it at least a little bit:)

Btw. Thank you all for the nice reviews for the last chapter:)

 **Disclaimer:** Rizzoli &Isles is not mine (for details, see Prologue)

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Chapter 5

Maura felt lightheaded when she ran. She never meant to cause trouble for Jane, but she should have known that talking to her would end in pain and hurt. To her outmost surprise, Maura felt tears gliding smoothly over her cheeks. When had she started to cry? Why had she started to cry? It wasn't anything new for her to be rejected by girls in school, so why was that different?

Maura finally stopped and bent over to catch her breath, but jerked in fright when she felt a hand on her back. Stumbling forward, trying to turn at the same time, Maura soon felt her butt connect with the hard ground.

"Whoa…chill, Maura, I won't hurt you!"

The smaller girl didn't seem to hear her and was mumbling something under her breath, while she drew her knees tightly to her chest. Curious to find out what Maura was saying, Jane knelt down next to her and put her face only inches away from the other girls.

"1 H 1,0071. 2 He 4,0026. 3 Li 6,941. 4 Be 9,0122…"

"Maura?" Jane, slightly confused but not paying further attention to the content of the mumbling, nudged her gently, smiling softly at her when the reciting stopped and the blond head lifted up to reveal hazel eyes peeking over the thin, pale arms.

"Hey there." Jane smiled even brighter and patted Maura's arm. "Why did you run?"

Maura hesitated for a moment, trying to comprehend the fact that Jane was sitting next to her and that she wasn't alone or about to be ridiculed. Before she could even think about any other possibility, she answered quietly.

"Your mother….she didn't like me speaking to you. I…don't…" she stopped for a split second, thoughts racing in her head. What didn't she want? To be laughed at? Shouted at? Be an outcast again? "I don't want to cause any trouble."

Maura was startled when Jane suddenly laughed heartedly.

"Cause trouble? I know you don't know me yet Maura, but my middle name is basically trouble, so…"

A short period of silence followed but both girl used it to sort out their thoughts, after the scare and run.

"Look." Jane finally said, sweeping away a wild lock of hair from her face, which stubbornly fell into her eyes. "You were obviously interested in something, otherwise you wouldn't have been coming back. What was it?"

When Maura didn't answer, but started to fidget with her fingers, Jane once again put her own hand on the girls arm.

"I am not mad or anything, okay? Just curious."

Jane could see Maura's brain working through different possibilities of what could happen if she talked to Jane and just when she thought Maura would refuse to say another word, the girl unfolded her body and something resembling excitement started to shine in her eyes.

"Your kitties. You see, I was searching for street cats to rescue, but I couldn't find any and when I walked by your house for the first time…" Maura stopped and giggled. "…your kitties were so sweet and so healthy and at first I felt guilty for wishing to have one like yours and not a rescued one, but when I couldn't find any for a few days…well…I liked to watch them play with you." Suddenly Maura's face fell again and Jane struggled to keep up with the other girls train of thoughts.

"But I was still looking for the street cats, I swear. I was really looking for them and didn't give up on them or anything. I wouldn't….

"Hold it."

Maura immediately stopped talking, worriedly gazing at Jane.

"Don't look so scrunched up." Jane laughed. "So you like cats? You could have come to us and played with us. We wouldn't have minded."

"Oh but I wouldn't want to…"

Before Maura could end her sentence, a loud bang echoed through the park, making both girls jerk in fright and birds fly away in panic.

"What the hell?" Jane cursed, sitting up on her knees to look around. When she felt Maura's hand close strongly around her arm in a death grip, she looked down at her surprised. The blonde was staring at something in the distance with wide eyes and her breath was beginning to get heavier. Jane followed her gaze quickly and froze.

Two man were leaning over a woman's lifeless body, trying to stuff her into a bag hurriedly.

"Oh my god." Jane whispered when she saw the glistening of a gun in the thinner man's hand. She felt panic blossoming in her chest, the urge to cry and call for her Ma was getting overwhelming. Just when she was about to jump to her feet, she felt the smaller girl next to her pressing her body against hers, instinctively seeking protection.

Suddenly Jane's brain cleared and her hand slowly wandered to Maura's, squeezing it slightly to get the girls attention.

"We need to hide, Maura. You hear me?" the whisper was so faint that Jane was afraid Maura wouldn't hear her, but when she felt the blond head nod against her shoulder, she slowly moved one leg in front of her to be able to stand up from her still kneeling position.

"We're gonna stand up slowly and stay bent over, ok?"

Again Maura nodded and Jane could feel her starting to move.

While they were getting to their feet in slow-motion, Jane's eyes never left the two men, which by now were tying the bag securely. Holding on to Maura's hand, Jane tried to memorize every detail about the men and the bag. Finally, after a few agonizing seconds, both girls were on their feet and Jane started to move backwards, pulling Maura with her.

She knew this park like her own pocket and she knew that it would take them only a few more stride to reach a cluster of bushes and trees behind them where they could hide safely.

Sweat was forming on Jane's back and she was counting their steps while she was fighting the cold fear that wanted to paralyze her limbs.

But the slight trembling from Maura's hand in hers kept her calm enough to think clearly. What did her Pa say? If in danger, never risk it all. There is no shame in hiding or running, because otherwise you might not have a life left to feel proud of staying.

Remembering her father's words, Jane was confident that retreating and hiding in the bushes was the best she and Maura could do at the moment.

Dread and a sickly tingling swept over her body and she stopped moving immediately when a loud snap broke the silence and echoed in her ears like firecrackers. A quick, panicked look down at Maura's feet confirmed that she had stepped onto a dry stick. Meeting Maura's wide, tear-filled eyes, Jane realized what this meant. Slowly looking back up at the men, she gasped when she saw them coming towards them.

There was only one word she could stutter out.

"Run."

The second the word left her lips, Jane turned sharply, starting to run while keeping a tight grip on the small hand in hers.

She could hear her own frantic breathing and Maura's gasps for air, but just when they reached the group of trees, Jane heard the thundering footsteps of the men behind her growing louder. Desperately trying to run faster, she felt tears forming in her eyes and falling unchecked onto her cheeks. This was not good, was the thought that repeated itself in her mind over and over again.

"Let… go of my hand…. I'm… too slow."

Jane suddenly heard Maura gasp out, but the thought of letting go of her simply jumped out of her brain quicker than she could have said no, so she didn't grace the request with an answer, only tightened her hold on Maura, dragging her with her.

Only seconds later, she was certain that she could feel the men's breaths on her neck and with one more burst of desperate energy, Jane changed their direction, hoping to throw their pursuers off.

But no matter how much she wished for them to get away, for someone to find them and scare the men off or simply the men giving up, it was not to happen. Within seconds the men reached the girls and Janes world went black after feeling a hard impact on her back and her face hitting the ground.

tbc...

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Please let me know what ya think. You know how it is for writers. The readers comments are their motivation;)


	7. Chapter 6

Thank you SOOOO much for all the reviews and sticking with me and the story! NExt time I'll thank you individually, I promise. I was just kind of busy this week, so I wasnt able to do so:(

Now, let's get on with the story:)

 **Disclaimer:** Rizzoli&Isles is not mine (for details, see Prologue)

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Chapter 6

Everything was black when Jane's senses slowly were starting to come back. For a moment she contemplated if it actually was dark around her or if she hadn't opened her eyes yet, but it seemed too hard for her to think and she simply kept existing in this numb state, which felt quiet alright to her for now. Suddenly penetrating her relaxed state, was a quiet sniffling and crying, which forced Jane to go back to the thought of opening her eyes. Working hard on it for a few moments, she finally was able to open them into narrow slits. First thing she noticed was that it was not really dark wherever she was now, but there was wind ruffling her hair, so she was starting to get confused. Was she camping with her family and forgot about it? As a louder sob reached her ears, Jane suddenly remembered. Maura.

Trying to call out to the girl resulted in a low groan, but Jane could tell that it had had the same effect, since the crying abruptly stopped and rustling started.

"Jane?" Maura's meek voice, made Jane turn her head a little bit to the side and she frowned when she found the younger girl kneeling over her, hastily brushing away her tears.

"You ok?" Jane croaked out, trying to sit up slowly. Now she could feel a dull throbbing starting at the side of her face. She heard more than saw Maura scoot closer, but when she felt the girls hand on her back, helping her to straighten up, a small smile appeared on her lips. It vanished quickly though when she looked around and noticed that around them was nothing but huge trees.

"Where are we?" she asked, surprised that her voice was nothing more than a whisper. Her eyes met wide hazel ones and Jane's brows furrowed in concern when she saw Maura's tear streaked cheeks and a bruise on one cheekbone.

"I think…" the younger girls voice was husky and rough as if she had screamed or cried loudly for hours. "…Wright's Park…or….or…maybe Greenwood Park…or maybe."

"Ok, ok, I get it." Jane waved her hand at the girl, but immediately felt bad when she saw new tears gathering in Maura's eyes.

"Hey." She coed and wiped a few tears from the bruised cheek, smiling.

"Why don't you tell me what happened. Cause I literally remember only black after starting to run."

Maura stared at her, lips quivering and hands clenching together in her lap.

"I thought….I thought you were dead." Her voice trembled and her eyes fell to the floor and Jane could see her chest starting to heave with ragged breaths she tried to suck in into her lungs. Within seconds, Maura was enveloped in Jane's warm embrace and her back was being gently patted.

"They dragged you to their car." Maura told Jane while sobbing. "You were not moving or making any sound at all. Just like the woman they shot."

"Shhh…"

Although Jane was starting to feel scared again, since their situation was starting to dawn on her slowly, she didn't let go of Maura and did her best to calm and reassure the girl.

"Everything's going to be fine, Maura. At least we are together."

Slowly Jane pulled away from their embrace and studied Maura's bruise again.

"How did this happen?"

Maura seemed taken aback and one of her hands wandered to the bruise, wincing when it made contact with the bluish skin.

"Oh…it's not that bad. I've had worse."

"What?" disbelieving, Jane stared at Maura. What did she mean by that? "What happened?" she asked again, the gentle tone making room for a stern one. Seeing Maura fidgeting once again, Jane covered the girls hands with her own. She could see the moment when Maura gave up.

"They wanted to take you from the car. You would have been alone. I didn't want them to take you."

Jane could picture Maura clinging to her lifeless form and shook her head, for now ignoring the fact that Maura hadn't really answered the question.

"You are very brave, Maura."

"I am not." Maura loudly explained. "I just didn't want you to be alone when you woke up. I was awake. I was able to memorize the way they took and…" she stopped, another tear leaving her right eye. "They want us to die here. One of them was scared to kill us. Cause we are children…But the other one….he was scary."

Jane nodded in understanding, remaining silent and going over their chances of survival.

For a while, both girls were quiet, but the remaining light of day was vanishing rapidly and Maura could feel a chill creeping up her exposed arms. She wished she had opted for a cardigan before walking out of the house this morning. The moment her house crossed her mind, her brain started to calculate. Beacon Hill was approximately 7 miles away which meant an over two hour walk in decent speed. 7 miles were only accurate if the men had dropped them of at the nearest edge of the Wright's Park, which was unlikely, since they obviously wanted them to get lost and die. So Maura opted for the worst case scenario. Around 8 Miles from Beacon Hill would be the perfect spot for getting rid of two kids. Between the north and middle reservoir. Nothing but trees and water. Almost a three hour walk if you knew which way to go.

Maura looked up through the trees, hoping for stars which could guide their way, but it was still too light to tell. The clouds gathering were boding nothing good though.

"So…" Jane's raspy voice brought her out of her thoughts, blinking rapidly. "How do we get out of here?"

"Why would you assume that I know?" Maura asked surprised.

Jane laughed.

"I know I don't know you really well yet, but I can tell in there…" her finger tapped Maura's forehead softly. "…is a lot inside."

"Well…" Maura shifted her position on the ground and leaned onto her arms. "I have been hiking in those woods a view times with my nanny…"

Maura ignored the questioning gaze that was focused on her and simply continued. "If we could reach a reservoir or a bigger path I maybe would be able to recognize it and tell which direction we need to move in."

"How much walking are we talking about?"

"Worst case and in our condition, something between five and seven hours."

"WHAT!?" Jane winced when her head started to throb again. Rubbing the back of her head, she sighed. "So we will have to stay in here for the night, right?"

"Most likely."

Jane frowned when she heard the tremble in Maura's voice.

"What's the matter? I am pretty sure that you will be able to find the way back tomorrow morning. I trust you, Maura. We won't starve or anything. It's not like we are in the desert or anything."

Maura didn't meet Janes gaze and started to pull at a thread from a tear in her pink dress.

"I…I'm kind of scared of the dark."

Jane groaned and let herself fall on her back again.

"Fabulous."

tbc...

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Hope you liked it a bit. I have to admit it is hard to portray them as children:)


	8. Chapter 7

HEy there:)

New chapter is already finished and I hope you'll like it. It's a bit more easy going (in some ways;))

So have fun:)

 **Disclaimer:** Rizzoli&Isles are not mine (more details, see Prologue)

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Chapter 7

Rizzoli Household…

"It's eight, Frank. Jane should be home already."

Angela's voice wasn't raised but there was a slight tremor of worry in it, which made her husband frown.

"It's not the first time she disregarded our rules, honey. She'll show up eventually." With that he wanted to go back to his newspaper, that he hadn't been able to read for the whole day. Just when he was about to unfold the paper, a hand crumbled the top of it and forced it down into his lap.

"Frank. I told you she took off after this girl. I think I should have followed her. Nora hadn't been too friendly while telling me about her and I think she got scared."

"So? It's not our problem, Angela. The girl ran home for sure."

"She looked rather wealthy." Angela commented as an afterthought.

"Well then she will get a pony for her scare and all tears and thoughts about it will be wiped clean. Problem solved." Frank shrugged and tried to rise his hands with the newspaper again, but this time his wife ripped it out of his hands. Frank could only sigh.

"Angela…"

"Frank! Our daughter is out there, maybe alone, maybe with a scared girl and you know how Jane is. She won't leave this poor girl…."

"Don't dramatize Angela." Frank huffed and jumped up from his seat.

"Dramatize?" Angela threw her arms over her head in irritation while she started to pace in front of her husband. "Do you have any idea what could have happened to them? What if they ran onto the street and are somewhere in a hospital after being crushed under the tires of a car."

Frank rolled his eyes and sighed in resignation. He knew his wife loved to dramatize and that it mostly was out of worry for the people she cared about but he had to admit that what she said made him slightly queasy this time. Though it was true that Jane often enough had been disregarding the set curfew, she never had been gone without telling them where she was or what she was doing.

"What was the girl's name?"

Angela, now satisfied that her husband was starting to take her seriously, tried to remember what Nora had told her when she had come running into the kitchen.

"I think…Nora said that Jane called her…wait…Monika? Nooo…." Angela let herself fall onto a chair and scratched her head in deep thought. "Maybe Marlena?" For a seond she was silent when suddenly she slapped her flat hand on the wooden surface of the table and let out a loud "HA…", making Frank jump.

"It was Maura!"

"Well…" Frank nodded. "Maybe we should start calling some people then."

In the Park…

The wind seemed to howl when it blew in-between the dark branches, making them sway eerily from side to side as if they were pointing at something or beckoning someone to come to them. What would happen if someone actually would go to them? Maybe they would tell them a story about how they have seen decades upon decades of history unfolding in front of them. But maybe they would grab them and force them to stay with them, so that they wouldn't be so alone anymore. Not able to move an inch from their position, they must be so lonely although hundreds of their own surrounded them.

Maura shivered and chided herself for those dark thoughts. They were highly illogical and completely unscientific. She was in fact sure that her fear of the dark was as illogical and childish as those thoughts but in contrast to those, she just couldn't turn off the fear. Maura turned onto her other side and scrunched up her nose when a particularly sharp broken branch poked her into the soft skin of her bare arm. She felt as if there were thousands of eyes observing her from the dark and she could feel herself getting claustrophobic. Not being in such a situation for the first time, Maura started to regulate her breathing, just as her psychologist had taught her. When she heard a low groan, she jumped in fright, but relaxed when her brain reminded her that Jane was lying only a few feet away and was fast asleep. Obviously the girl had been sleeping outside before, cause she hadn't seemed disturbed by any of the foreign sounds or the darkness at all. She didn't even seem to mind their clothes being dirty and ripped at a lot of places. Maura shivered again and she couldn't deny the fact that she could almost feel Jane's body warmth radiating towards her. Though normally avoiding body contact, the cold and her instincts begged her to shuffle closer to the source of warmth.

For a moment she listened harder, making sure that Jane was asleep. Reassured by the dark haired girls even breathing, Maura heaved her body from the ground and after looking around without any particular reason, she slowly made her way to Jane's side. Stopping immediately when she heard Jane shift onto her back, Maura tried to keep her teeth from chattering and keeping her breathing calm and quiet. When Jane quieted and seemed to be comfortable again, Maura took the remaining steps towards her and quickly laid down next to her, albeit with still a fair distance between them. When Jane shifted again, Maura held her breath until the other girl quieted again. What would she do if she woke and found Maura so close? Maura bit her lower lip and closed her eyes, feverishly trying to remember when her mother or father had given her a hug or simply cuddled with her. Maura didn't like contact with others because it reminded her too much of the fact that she couldn't remember her parents ever doing such a thing.

From exhaustion and with tears on her cheeks, Maura finally fell asleep.

Rizzoli household…

Frankie and Tommy sat on the stairs and held onto the banisters with cramping hands and listened to their mother's cries.

"I told you we should have searched for her earlier. It's all your fault we waited so long." Angela obviously had wanted to say more but the sob cut her off, giving her husband a moment to squeeze in his own thoughts.

"Oh really? Maybe you shouldn't have let her run away?"

Angela gasped and Tommy and Frankie winced.

"So you are saying this is my fault? That our daughter is out there, alone in the dark, obviously not able to come back home?" Again, sobs wracked her body and Frank sighed.

"Ang…listen…I'm just saying that…"

"I don't wanna hear it, Frank. I am home alone all day cause you are out working. We have three children, Frank! And all the house work and upbringing has been dumped on me! I can't have my eyes everywhere and if I had run after her I would have left Tommy and Frankie alone at home. Would you have wanted that?"

"Angela…"

"I told you I don't want to hear it!" Angela shouted, making every Rizzoli in the house flinch. She walked up to her husband, poked him with her index finger into the chest and glared.

"I will not talk to you until you bring me my baby back, is that clear?"

In the park, one hour later…

Somewhere between dreaming of ice cream and gnocchi's, Jane felt a penetrating warmth at her left side, which brought her out of her dreams. Wanting to turn around, she slightly panicked when she felt a heavy weight on her chest and shoulder, but before she could scream and jump to her feet, Jane felt something soft tickle her nose and her movements ceased and her panic morphed into curiosity. Peering down, Jane could make out blonde hair on her shoulder and a pale arm winding around her waist with a fist tightly attached to her pullover.

Jane smiled softy. Maura reminded her of her brother Frankie right now, but she knew that Frankie wasn't scared of people, he was simply too attached to Jane. Maura on the other hand…if Jane would have to guess, she would say that Maura didn't have any friend, maybe never had had any and her parents were teaching her to be very…independent. Poor giri, Jane thought and sighed inwardly. She needed to get to the bottom of this. Maura was polite, sweet and obviously smart and Jane couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't want to play with her or have her around in general. She also couldn't imagine what could have happened to her in the past to make her say that the bruise wasn't the worst she'd ever had. Jane suddenly started to worry. What if…

Her thought was cut off by a snap of a branch in the distance. Involuntarily Jane's muscles tensed, which seemed to disturb Maura's sleep since Jane could feel the girl's hand tug at her clothes.

"Shhh…." Jane calmed the girl, at the same time trying to keep her as quiet as possible.

Jane knew the sounds in the woods. The trees moving, branches rubbing against each other and night birds moving around. She also knew the sounds of footsteps. So either they would get a visit from a deer or boar in a short while or there was someone walking around in the woods.

tbc...

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Let me know what ya think:)


	9. Chapter 8

Sorry for the long wait and the short chapter! I am quiet busy at the moment and have to squeeze writing into the few free moments I can find.

I hope you'll like the new chapter anyways!

Thank you for every single comment you guys left me!

Now...here we go:)

 **Disclaimer: Rizzoli &Isles is not mine(for details, see Prologue)**

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Chapter 8

"Maura." Jane hissed at the girl, who wasn't even thinking of waking up, instead curled even more into Jane. "Maura!" nudging her a little, Jane never let her eyes stray away from the direction the sound had come from. Straining her eyes in the dark, she couldn't make anything out though and nudged Maura's arm again.

The blood in her veins froze over when a branch snapped again, but this time a lot closer. Not waiting for Maura to wake up, Jane sat up, taking the girl with her into a sitting position, jostling her rather abruptly, effectively waking her this time.

"Jane?" the sleepy voice was a mixture of annoyance and fear, but Jane didn't even hesitate to climb to her feet and pull the girl with her.

"We need to go, Maura."

"W…why?" Jane felt the girl clinging to her pullover again and without explaining anything, she started to pull Maura further into the forest of trees. The girls stumbled a few times, until Jane noticed a giant tree with a hollow trunk. For a moment they stopped, Jane listening to their surroundings. Her heart almost stopped when she heard the snapping again.

Grabbing Maura's thin arm once more, Jane dragged her to the hole and motioned her to crawl inside. She smiled reassuringly when Maura hesitated and looked up at her. With a steady hand on the younger girls back, Jane guided her into the trunk, following quickly when she saw that there was enough space for both of them. For a fleeting moment she wondered why she had even considered to leave the hiding spot to the girl and staying outside, but not needing to worry about it now, made her forget about the thought quickly, while positioned herself next to Maura.

"You've gotta be really quiet now, ok?" Jane whispered into Maura's ear and immediately felt her nodding and attaching herself to her again. The older girl would never admit it to anyone, but she was glad for the comfort the warmth of another human being was giving her at that moment.

Their harsh breaths slowly calmed and for a few blissful seconds there was nothing else to hear but the wind and rustling of the foliage. Just when Jane was about to relax her muscles and consider crawling out of the hole again, she heard it.

Footsteps. Now they were clear as day. No, this wasn't anything else but human footsteps and Jane was sure that Maura had recognize them too, since the girl became as stiff as a board against her.

Jane slowly raised her hand and put her finger against her own lips, telling Maura to be really quiet. Paralyzed by fear, Maura wasn't even able to nod, only to tense up even more.

The footsteps grew louder and slower, as if the person was searching for something, but to the girl's relief they stopped still quiet far away from them. Some rustling later, they heard something like a plastic bag being shifted and then flinched when a loud "Damn!" echoed through the darkness.

"Where are those little brats?" the deep voice grumbled and some more shuffling could be heard. Jane squeezed her eyes shut, the motion giving her the irrational feeling of safety. Pressing her lips together, she tried to keep the whimper that was begging to come out at bay. She could feel Maura tremble next to her and when Jane opened her eyes, looking down, she could see tears flowing down Maura's face. Not seeing any possible way of comfort in their current situation, Jane simply held on tight to the girl and started to pray.

 _Please, dear god. If you can hear me, I swear I will never forget to prey in the morning and evening again if you just protect us from this man. Please, please please, pl…"_

Both girls jumped when they felt a violent vibration shaking the tree they were hiding in. Jane was grateful for the man's foul mouth and loud voice that droned out Maura's whimper. Quickly Jane pulled her closer to herself and gently held a hand over her trembling lips to keep her quiet.

Sensing huge hazel eyes on her, Jane looked down in Maura's tear filled eyes and shook her head. They needed to keep as calm and quiet as possible.

Another tirade of curses left the man's mouth, while he seemed to walk away from their position. Straining her ears, Jane thought he heard him talk to someone.

Suddenly she felt something tug at the hem of her pullover and she flinched before breathing in relief when she realized it was just Maura. Jane pulled her hand from her mouth and smiled.

"I think he is walking away." She whispered, but Maura shook her head.

"He's going to come back." She hurriedly said, still tugging at Jane's pullover.

"How do you know?" Jane asked, lying a hand on Maura's to still the nervous motion.

Maura swallowed the tears down that were threatening to spill over again and tried to focus her mind like she was usually doing every day. She should be able to focus. It was what she did. Turn out everything else and focus on the task at hand, but somehow it didn't want to work this time around. The panic inside of her chest was too strong and she felt her breathing starting to get uneven and the pressure on her chest starting to hurt.

"What's wrong?" Jane worriedly whispered into her ear, when she felt Maura's body trembling violently against her.

The girl didn't answer but her head was shaking from side to side frantically.

A panic attack was not something that she wanted to have right now. Maura remembered her first one taking place when she was in first grade and a girl had pushed her to the ground and pulled her hair and she could still feel the dirt pressing against her cheek and invading her mouth. The heavy breathing had just started and Maura had felt like drowning. At least that's what it had been described like in a book she had read a few days earlier. Since then the panic attacks had been a part of her life she hadn't learned to control entirely yet.

"Maura." Jane's urgent and obviously worried whisper reached Maura's brain and she tried to relax. She needed to tell her why she thought the man would come back. She needed to know. But the words got stuck in her throat and the only thing coming out of her mouth was a croak that was startlingly louder than she thought it would be.

Through the haze in her head, Maura heard Jane curse and felt the girl grip her arm tightly, pulling it in some, for her undefined, direction.

"C'mon Maura, we need to get out of here."

Why was Jane yelling? Why was she pulling her to her feet? Shouldn't they stay put and quiet and hidden and…

"I got them!"

Maura didn't even notice the whimper leaving her lips.

He found them.

tbc...


	10. Chapter 9

I am sooooo sorry for the long time I ahven't uploaded anything! I was really busy and somehow I didnt feel like writing.

Just so you know, I kind of dont really like this chapter and I think it is due to the long time I haven't written anything for this story. So please go easy on me:)

 **Disclaimer:** Rizzoli&Isles is not mine (For details, see Prologue)

* * *

Chapter 9

When Angela stepped in front of their house, she inhaled the crispy air deeply, in hope that it would calm her nerves at least a little bit. It wasn't like her daughter to stay away for the night, no matter if planned or not. Although a rather tough and tomboyish girl, Jane preferred to be at home at night and Angela was immensely grateful for that. Not having her girl with her right now and not knowing where she was, made Angela once again swallow down the hysteric tears that were threatening to fall. The police was on its way and Angela didn't want to leave her husband to explain the situation to the officers while she was weeping uncontrollably.

Looking up into the dark sky, she sighed when she saw a shooting start.

"Oh please bring my Janie safe and sound back home."

In the woods…

Jane could hear her blood rushing through her veins in neck breaking speed, pumping adrenaline through her body, enabling her legs to propel her a tad quicker forward and away from the screaming man following them. She could also feel the smaller hand in hers and the weight that was holding her back slightly, but not for a second the thought of letting go of Maura had went through her mind.

The pounding of the footsteps got louder and it was a fight against her own primal urge not to cry in fear, but Jane managed to hold back a sob, concentrating on the ground in front of her. They couldn't afford to stumble or even hesitate for a second.

"Hey!" the man screamed again and Jane almost laughed out loud when she heard a root snap and a body colliding with the hard forest ground.

"Hurry Maura!" Jane yelled out of breath, running now full speed through some thorny bushes and wincing when the prickly thorns penetrated her pullover and tore open her skin. The string of curses got quieter and further away after a few more strides and Jane knew they were almost clear.

Only when Jane couldn't hear anything else but her own heavy breathing, she started to look around franticly for a hiding spot. Spotting a huge dark bush formation, Jane pulled Maura into it and onto the ground, where she finally started to calm down and relaxing her grip around the smaller girls shaking hand.

"I think we lost him." She whispered. "What a jerk."

Jane shook her head at the man's stupidity and chuckled in relief. She couldn't believe how lucky they were and that they got away again. Those guys seemed to be overwhelmed with two kids. Maybe they weren't professionals after all, Jane wondered. When she turned around to talk to Maura, she suddenly halted in her movements and another kind of fear settled in her stomach.

"Maura? Are you ok?"

The other girl was shaking violently and gasping for air, which certainly was not from simply running around too much. Maura didn't answer and Jane sat up onto her knees to bent down over her.

"Hey? Can you hear me?" Jane's voice started to rise in concern, but she cringed when she thought of the man who was searching for them still.

Not knowing what else to do, Jane grasped Maura by her shoulders and pulled her into a strong hug,

"Shhh…you need to calm down, Maura." Jane cooed, just like she would do with one of her younger brothers whenever they fell and hurt themselves or woke up after a nightmare.

"You're ok, honey. We're ok. The bad man is gone for now."

The raspy breathing, ruffling Jane's hair, was almost painful to listen to and the fists closing around Jane's pullover were pulling Jane even closer. When Jane started to stroke her hand over the honey blonde hair, she was unbelievably relieved to feel the girls shaking subsiding and her breathing calming down significantly.

Jane smirked when she remembered her mother telling her that a hug could cure everything. _Guess you were right, Ma._

"I…"Maura suddenly squeezed out in-between parched lips. "I…don't have…my …inhala…tor."

"It's ok." Jane whispered, not letting go of Maura, in fear that the girl would panic again.

A few minutes later, Maura started to pull away from Jane and wiped away the tears from her cheeks. Sheepishly she looked to the ground and apologized, making Jane wonder if the girl was really sorry or if she was simply polite to a fault.

"Why would you be sorry?" she asked bewildered, eyes huge and brows furrowed. "Do you have asthma or something?" Jane waited patiently for an answer, listening with one ear for threatening sounds around them.

"Well…not…really." a sniff halted Maura's explanation, but she ignored the urge to cry again. "I suffer from occasional panic attacks." Maura's eyes filled with fresh tears. "I shouldn't have panicked. I should have thought of a solution of the problem. Crying and panic leads only to a clouded mind, which…"

"Stop right there." Jane shook her head in disbelieve. This girl was really weird. Cute for sure and interesting but weirder than anyone Jane had met before.

"I was…am… scared too." Jane admitted, grudgingly but still openly. "If you are scared you panic. That's natural."

"But you didn't hyperventilate. You saved me…us." Maura looked crestfallen, although Jane could see gratitude in her eyes.

Jane thought carefully over the next words she was about to say, so that they wouldn't hurt the girls feelings. Normally tact and sensitive weren't words Jane would use to describe herself but she knew that in this situation it was worth the efford.

"You know…people are different. Everyone has their strong traits and their weak ones. That's still normal."

Blinking rapidly, Maura titled her head to the side and looked at Jane curiously.

"You are…different."

"Different?" Jane didn't know if she should feel offended or take it as a compliment, but seeing Maura's neutral expression on her face, Jane smiled encouragingly, in hope Maura would explain her thoughts further. When Maura smiled softly and patted Janes arm, she relaxed.

"You don't laugh at the things I say…or at me." The open and slightly sad look in Maura's eyes, touched Janes heart.

"Why should I? They do make kind of sense. You just seem…different yourself. But why would I have a problem with that? As long as it is a positive different I am all cool with it."

Jane almost fell onto her back when she found her arms suddenly full of Maura, who was crushing her in a hug.

"Thank you!" Maura whispered into Jane's hair. "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me!"

Jane patted the girls back, but sighed inwardly. Who has this girl spend time with before? For now this question would have to wait. Jane was simply grateful for a potential crisis averted.

Rizzoli household…

"And the other girl was younger?"

"I told you already more than a dozen times that she looked around eight years old." Angela sighed in frustration, sitting down with a groan.

"And you are sure that you have never seen her before?"

Angela could feel her blood starting to boil. How often would this police officer repeat his questions instead of starting to search for her daughter? Meeting her husband's warning glare though, Angela bit her tongue and answered once again.

"No. I can only tell you that my daughter called her Maura and seemed to have seen her before. Otherwise she wouldn't have run after her."

The rather short police officer, whose name Angela had forgotten already, nodded at her and scribbled something into his notepad.

"Right. Now why do you think did she run after her?"

"I don't know. Maybe the girl was hurt or something. My Janie is very protective you know? She tends to befriend children that are not the most popular."

"Ah…A goody two shoe?" The police officer laughed but his smile fell away when he saw the scornful expression on Angela's face.

"Not…exactly." She said, but refrained from any further comment.

Frank stepped closer, his fists shoved into his hips and forehead scrunched up in thought.

"What will you do now? We tried to find something out about this Maura, but no one around here knows her and none of Jane's friends know her either. Now they are both gone."

The police officer nodded and put his notepad away.

"Some of my colleagues are already roaming the streets, looking for the girls. I will try to find out who this Maura is. We didn't get any new missing cases or even calls about a girl missing around here. We are currently spreading our search to other…"

"Ok, ok…I wanna know what you will do about my daughter." Frank cut the officer off, but the man only shrugged.

"I can't do much more, Sir. I am sorry. We are searching this district right now and after finishing here we will go to the next one and so on. We have not a lot to work with, so we need to do it the slow way."

The officer nodded at them and excused himself, going outside and calling his partner, leaving Angela and Frank alone in a deadly silent room.

Frank leaned against the table, brushing his hands over his face in a nervous gesture.

"God…" he whispered and looked up to the ceiling. "….I will never forgive myself if something happens to her."

Angela brushed off her tears and stood up shakily. Walking towards her husband, she stretched out her arms and was relieved when he wound his own around her, pressing her into a hug.

"They'll find her Frank. I am sure." She tried to reassure them both. "Our Janie is a tough little girl."

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tbc...

Although I know it is not my best chapter, please let me know what ya think (gently;))


	11. Chapter 10

Hey there guys and a beautiful holiday season:)

After quiet a while, here comes another update(a bit longer this time)

My muse is still not really back, but I am working around it somehow:)

Hope you like this chapter and I wanna **thank every single one of you for reviewing and supporting! You guys are the best!**

Now, without further rambling, here comes the chapter:)

 **Disclaimer:** Rizzoli&Isles are not mine(for details, see Prologue)

* * *

Chapter 10

Maura's eye sprang open and a scream wanted to tear out of her throat, but she managed to hold it in, swallowing the temporary terror. Now awake fully, she silently sat up and climbed to her feet.

The air around them was growing colder and the clouds have made way for the starry sky, the moon lighting up their surroundings. Relieved Maura smiled weakly up to the earth's companion and sighed.

"It' around midnight." She informed the girl lying next to her in a hushed tone. She wasn't sure if Jane had finally fallen asleep after sitting for at least an hour as tense as a string on a violin and listening for footsteps or other sounds. Maura shivered in her crouched position and wound her arms around her waist. If Jane was asleep, it was now her turn to keep an eye and ear out and protect them. But when the older girl suddenly cleared her throat and moved slightly, Maura felt instantly safer again.

"How do you know? And are you alright?" Jane's voice sounded rough and sleepy, but Maura couldn't detect any kind of ridicule in it and she couldn't keep her lips from stretching into a small smile.

"The moon." She started to explain, while lying down next to Jane onto the uncomfortably hard and cold ground and ignoring the other question. "The position of the moon at this time of year correlates with our understanding of the term midnight."

Maura could hear Jane shifting her position and turned her head to find the girl lying on her side now and facing her.

"How do you know those things?" Jane asked, in awe by the younger girl. She wouldn't call herself stupid or anything but Maura's knowledge was far beyond her own or Jane's age. It was something special, even Jane at her young age could see that.

"Oh…" Maura started to fidget with her hands and her gaze shifted away from Janes. "…I…I like to read, you know?"

For a moment, Jane watched her skeptically and then smiled.

"You don't need to hide from me that you are some kind of genius. "

Jane almost laughed aloud when she saw Maura's wide eyes and heard her gasp. Clamping a hand over her mouth, she held in her laughter though and waited for Maura to say something.

"I am not hiding it!" Maura didn't let Jane wait too long with her answer. "I just…don't like to talk about it." Keeping her voice very low in fear of being heard, Maura hoped that maybe Jane didn't hear her or listen to her or whatever, just so that she wouldn't keep up this conversation. Her life wasn't glamorous. Well, glamorous in a wealthy way yes, but Maura's private time was lonely and embarrassingly gray.

There was a knowing smile on Jane's face though and Maura resigned herself to be laughed at again, but was surprised when Jane didn't giggle or laugh or call her names, but lay a hand on Maura's arm and asked her something no one had asked her ever before.

"Don't you feel lonely?"

Jane almost passed out when she saw tears spring into the younger girl's eyes. Hurriedly she inched her way closer to Maura and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I just mean…" she awkwardly started. "Because you are so much smarter than anyone else and the people don't really get what you say and…." At the first sobbing sounds, Jane cringed and decided to do the sensible thing and apologies for putting her foot into her mouth.

"Darn it, Maura. I am really sorry! I didn't mean to…"

"You are right!" A sniffling Maura interrupted her. "I AM lonely."

Jane's heart was melting immediately and her embrace tightened further around the smaller girl. She couldn't relate to how it was to be too smart, but she could relate to being lonely at times because of being…too much.

"Don't worry." Jane whispered into the blond head that was tucked under her chin. "You won't be alone ever again."

Maura pulled back abruptly, wide hazel eyes gazing into Janes with wonder.

"Do you…mean it?" the young girl smeared a hand over her face, trying to dry her tears, instead leaving a streak of dirt on her cheek, making Jane chuckle with that less than prim and proper action.

"Of course I do."

Pulling the girl back into her arms, Jane couldn't suppress a sarcastic but good natured laugh.

"I can't promise not to tease though. And don't think that I forgot about your nightmare, Missy!"

"Who's Missy?" Maura asked curiously.

"Oh boy…"

Boston Police Station…

"What about the other girl?" Angela's voice sounded exhausted. It had started to do so at least an hour ago, when she, her husband and their two boys moved to the nearest police station to wait for any news. A new police officer sat on the other side of the desk and gazed at her questioningly.

"What do you mean?"

Angela could feel her face turning red in anger.

"Are you guys not talking with each other?" she boomed, jumping up from her uncomfortable chair. "How do you want to find the girls if you don't even know who you are looking for?"

The man, she didn't even know the name of, looked at her sheepishly but nodded understandingly.

"I just took over a shift for a sick colleague. I am sure that my Sergeant knows everything in detail, so I can either get him here or bring you to him."

Angela's fury subsided slightly and her shoulders sagged a bit.

"You can bring me to him." Following him out, Angela took a look at his name tag.

"Oh and I am sorry, Officer Korsak. I am just worried. "

"That is understandable, Mrs Rizzoli. I am sure we will find them soon."

Only minutes later, the Sergeant in question was greeting the family and inviting them into his office.

"I am so sorry that you have to go through something horrible like this." Waiting for the family to sit down in the numerous chairs around his office, he finally took a seat himself and sighed.

"I am Sargent Hobsten. I will be supervising the search for Jane and Maura."

Angela and Frank nodded, but the Sargent wasn't done yet.

"Did your daughter know Maura for a long time?"

Slightly surprised by the question, this time Frank answered the question.

"We don't know this girl. It seems like she had been hanging around our house for a few days and that's how Jane got to know her. But how does that have to do anything with finding our daughter?"

The Sargent scratched his head and it seemed like he pouted but maybe it was only worry, Angela thought, waiting for an answer.

"Well." The man started, obviously uncomfortable. "We checked the city records and we found only three Maura's in Boston. Two of them are safely at home, tucked in in their beds. One household isn't picking up the phone."

Angela frowned.

"And? Who is she? Is it her home? Didn't you try to contact other relatives?"

"It's Maura Isles. Adoptive daughter of Constance and Arthur Isles."

Angela's eyes grew wide as saucers, while Frank gazed at his wife in confusion.

"You know them Ang?"

"No…" she answered, getting nervous visibly. "But I've read about them in the newspaper. Constance Isles is an artist, isn't she? And her husband a world known Professor."

"Yes, ma'am."

Angela's mouth hung open and tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Angela, would you explain to me what is happening here?" Frank bellowed in frustration, waking a dozing Tommy.

"They are wealthy, Frank." Angela said, trying to hold back any further tears for her children's sake.

"My little darling…Jane…she might have…" Angela stopped and turned away from her family, looking at the Sargent, who started to explain what Angela was trying to say.

"They might have kidnapped the children. For ransom." He watched Frank's face lose all blood and grow ashen pale.

"Ransom?" Was the only thing he could ask, through suddenly too dry lips.

"They might have wanted to kidnap only Maura, but if the girls were together…well, we can't say if that's what happened for sure, but it is a possibility."

The silence in the room grew heavy, but no one knew what to say at the moment.

Finally, after a few moments Tommy whimpered and tugged at his father's sleeve.

"Is Janie coming home with us now?"

"We'll have to wait a bit for her sweetie." Frank told his son absentmindedly and carried on whit his nervous leg bouncing.

In the park…

"Do you think we will get out of here?"

"Of course."

Jane sighed. What was she supposed to do with that answer? How were they going to get out of here? Would someone find them?

"Do you think someone will find us?"

Jane smirked when she heard Maura clear her throat. Obviously, the girl would start a longer explanation, which was exactly what Jane wanted her to do. The silence was grating on her substance and making her nervous. She expected for any sound to be something that wanted to harm them and as long as Maura was talking she wouldn't be able to hear those noises and maybe she would be able to stop worrying.

"In some way we will get out of here, Jane. It might be that we will find a way out of here, although I have to admit that I lost track of our movements through the park and I cannot be sure where we are now. Should someone start searching for us, the possibility of finding us here is quiet high but it is unlikely to happen before daylight." She paused, making Jane frown at her. "If the bed men find us…I am sure that someday someone will find our bodies and we will in some way get out of here…but if…"

"No,no, no!" Jane snapped and clasped her hand over Maura's mouth to stop her from talking. This was certainly not calming her down…at all.

"As long as we are here and alone…don't tell me anything about…dead people or anything that has anything to do with that. Deal?"

Jane could see the girl thinking hard about this and obviously she wasn't too thrilled about the prospect of not being able to finish her explanations but finally she turned her head, smiled sweetly at Jane and nodded.

"Deal. But only if you tell me something about yourself. I always wanted to know more about normal life's of other children."

Clearly, Maura didn't mind Jane's shocked face and simply asked away happily.

"What hobbies do you have? Are you allowed to watch TV? Do you have friends you can eat at school with? Do you like your teachers? I always wondered if every other child had a pet. Do they? Do you have siblings?"

"Whoa…stop…stop!" Jane's hands sprang up in an attempted to stop the girls word flow.

"First of all: Shhhh! We need to keep quiet, ok?"

Waiting for Maura to nod, Jane smiled and breathed in the crispy air deeply. Normally she wasn't one to talk about herself too much, but Maura was obviously deprived of social contacts and ridiculously unaware of a normal kids life. So strange. Jane couldn't even imagine how Maura's life was supposed to be. This question would need to wait until she answered Maura's questions though, because the girl was already practically shaking with excitement to hear Jane explain her life to her.

"Well…Maura. Once upon a time there was a little girl…."

"Was it you, Jane?"

"Are you really going to interrupt me after every few words?"

"Uhmm…I'm sorry?"

"Yeah, right…"

tbc...

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Next chapter will be a bit mire tense, so I hope you enjoyed this more easy going one:)

P.S.

Sorry for any kind of grammar or spelling mistakes!


	12. Chapter 11

Hey guys.

I am so sorry for the delay. For some reason I was sure that I had posted this chapter already, but obviously I didnt! So sorry.

I do want to thank you all though for all your support! It means the wordl to me! Just so you know: I never leave a story unfinished, no matter how long it takes to write it, so for those who might worry about that, lay your worries to rest;) (cause I know how annoying it is when your fav' story isnt finished and never will be. REALLY sucks, doesnt it?)

Whtever. I hope you will enjoy this slightly longer chapter. Slowly we are coming to the end. Maybe two or three more chapters and we will be done;)

Disclaimer: (See Prologue)

Chapter 11

"You really did that?" Maura's whisper was filled with wonder when she looked at Jane

"Of course I did." Jane snorted. "I wouldn't have let a bully just beat up my little brother."

The girls were still lying on the cold ground, snuggled together for warmth. Jane felt like she had been talking for hours but in reality it had been only half an hour, but she felt proud of herself that she had gotten the blonde girl next to her to laugh and grin. To her surprise Maura was not laughing now, but had a rather somber expression on her face.

"What's up?" Jane asked, nudging the girl with her elbow.

"Oh nothing…it's just that…" Maura hesitated, but didn't want to hold back anything from her new friend. "I always wished for someone who would stand up for me." Before jane could commend, the little girl's eyes grew wide and she shook her head quickly, while starting to speak again. "Oh it's not that I mean for you to…. Or that I want someone to…I'm sorry…I…"

"For a genius you kind of ramble a lot." Jane smirked and clasped a hand over Maura's mouth to stop her flow of words. "I know what you mean and I don't mind. I just can't believe that you don't have any friends. Did you tell you parents?"

Shifting uncomfortably, Maura nodded.

"And? Didn't they go to the teachers or something? I mean that's what they should do right? Though, my Ma would probably storm after those bullying idiots and give them a piece of her mind." Jane chuckled, but the smiled died on her face when Maura stayed serious. Questioningly Jane's brows lifted up, prompting Maura to explain her situation further.

"They…uhm…well they told me that I am an Isles and I should simply ignore them. Crying and arguing with teachers or parents would only lead to stress and lost time which could be used otherwise." Maura sighed and looked pleadingly at the taller girl. "And I really tried, I swear, but I feel like I don't fit anywhere."

"I believe you, Maura. " Jane told her softly, but inwardly she felt anger rise in her. "Being different doesn't have to be bad you know? It makes you special."

Though Maura was giving her a timid smile, Jane could see that the girl didn't believe her, yet. _That'll take some work I guess…_ Jane thought, already looking forward to teach Maura some great, normal kid, stuff.

After a few minutes of silence, Maura suddenly sat up and let out a huff.

"We really should try to find our way out of here, Jane. We are basically sitting birds here."

Jane held back a giggle and joined Maura in her sitting position.

"You mean ducks."

Maura titled her head in deep thought and gave her a confused look. "Ducks are birds." She confirmed and nodded. "So it could be ducks."

Jane bit her lower lip and shook her head.

"No, Maura. The saying. It's "sitting ducks", not birds."

"Oh…ok. But anyhow, we should move."

"Do you really think they are still searching for us? It's been like two hours or so."

"I can't be sure, of course, but they seemed very…intent to silence us."

A shudder ran over Jane's back and it reminded her of the fact that Maura had once again dodged the topic of what had happened after she had lost consciousness. Not wanting to steer the conversation into another deep feeling confession fest for now, jane clamped her mouth shut and nodded at the blonde.

"Well, let's go then. I guess you know which way to go?"

Maura nodded, albeit hesitantly. "I've observed the stars while we were resting and I think I figured out in which approximate direction we should move. I can't promise we will get to the city immediately, but we should be able to at least find the main streets and some street signs."

Jane, who at the word approximately had stopped listening fully, was satisfied with the last few words and slowly got to her feet.

 _I think I got her speeches figured out now. Listen to the beginning and the end and you will know everything you need to know. Great._

Making sure that no one was in their close proximity, Jane finally stood to her fully size and offered her hand to Maura to help her up. With a smirk she observed her trying to rid herself of the dirt who clung to her clothes like glue. When she saw Maura giving up on the task with a frown on her face, Jane stretched her arm out, holding back the branches around them and bent at the waist.

"After you, Miss."

At the police station….

Angela didn't know what she was supposed to do. Frank had gone back home with the boys, who had been falling asleep on him for a better part of the last three hours. Of course Angel had refused to wait for any news at home. That would mean she would find them out a few minutes later than she could bare. So far, there was nothing new happening, except that some officers had been send out to the Isles residence to see why no one was answering. And since and abduction was for now the hottest trail they had, the Isles were a crucial part of the search and investigation.

Angela felt tears once again gathering in her eyes. Investigation. Her daughter was missing. Her little Jane. Lowering her head, Angela tried to get a grip on her emotions. They wouldn't help her now. Breathing in deeply, holding her breath and then slowly letting it out through her mouth, she felt like the threatening tears started to retreat, leaving her spend and tired again.

Just when she wiped away the last traces of the salty drops on her face, the Sergeant came in, wearing a grim expression on his face.

"Did you talk to Maura's parents?" was the first question leaving Angela's mouth, her body titling forward in anticipation. Confused by the Sergeant's frowning face, Angela let herself fall back into the chair.

"So it's really an abduction?" her face paled in prospect of having to deal with this feared certainty.

"No, no." The Sergeant immediately tried to calm her down. "Well, we don't know." He added, sitting down behind his desk and folding his hands on the shiny wooden surface.

"The Isles are not home and aren't supposed to return for the next three months. The officers only met the families' maid who gave the officers their cell phone numbers. We couldn't reach either one of them."

"Where are they? Didn't the maid notice the girl missing?"

Angela couldn't believe what she was hearing. Who would leave a child as young as Maura seemed to be alone at home with a maid for such a long time?

The man in front of her sighed deeply, shaking his head.

"She was hosting a party for her friends and it seems that it slipped her mind to check on the girl."

"Oh no…" Angela felt relieved on one hand but on the other, she was beginning to get frustrated with the lack of valuable news on her daughters whereabouts.

"What now?"

"Now…" the Sergeant sighed and wiped a fine sheen of sweat from his forehead. "…now we hope for a miracle."

As if in a movie, the second the words left his mouth, Officer Korsak came bursting through the door with a slip of paper in his hand.

"Sergeant, we've got a man calling in. He found a female body in a park. No ID yet."

"Oh my god…please don't let it be my Janie." Angela whimpered, holding back tears but starting to shake in shock and fear.

"Where?" the Sergeant asked brusquely, standing up and taking the paper from his Officer. "That's not far from your home Mrs. Rizzoli."

In the woods…

"Come on, Maura." Jane whispered, tugging on Maura's hand in hers. "We can't stop here."

Maura felt the urge to groan, but she knew Jane was right and so she swallowed the groan and kept on following the taller girl through the clearing they have entered only seconds ago. They were awfully visible here and she could actually feel her skin starting to crawl.

Turning her head, Maura knew that she wouldn't see anything, but still she was afraid to find glowing eyes following her every move.

"Stupid." She mumbled to herself, hoping Jane didn't hear her. If she did, the other girl didn't let her know that she did and stoically continued on her way over the soft grass.

Once again Maura couldn't help herself but turn around and scan the edge of the clearing, not believing for a second to actually see something. But when her eyes registered a slight metallic glint in between the trees, her mouth opened and a let out bloodcurdling scream, instinctively pulling Jane to the ground, just before a crack filled the air and birds started to scream around them.

"A gun…he…he has a gun." Maura stammered in panic, trembling and clinging to Jane's arm. Although the sounds around her started to faint away, making way for the blind panic, Jane's very passionate "Crap!" still penetrated the thick haze.

Maura felt Jane pulling at her arm and dragging her body like a ragdoll over the ground. When another crack sounded and dirt hit Maura's face, another scream left her lips and the haze suddenly vanished. Never had a situation been that clear to Maura before. She felt as if time had slowed down or even stopped and the various possible outcomes were playing out in front of her inner eye.

One wrong move and they would be dead in a split second.

The film in her head stopped abruptly when she felt Jane starting to scramble to her feet, right into her certain death.

"NO." Maura yelled, pulling Jane back down. "We need to crawl. Stay down as long as possible."

TO her surprise, Jane didn't question her and started to rob in direction of the trees.

Though slow, the girl's reached the tree line a few moments later and finally got to their feet and took off running. Hearts beating loudly and harsh panting made it impossible to hear anything else than their own desperation, and so neither Jane nor Maura were able to react when a third pair of feet started running only a few feet away from them. Only when the next, ear-numbing crack sounded through the trees, it started to dawn on them that they were in a very bad situation.

Just when this thought registered on Jane, another shot was fired and Maura's hand was ripped out of hers.

"Maura!" The yell ripped out of Jane's throat but the only answer she got was a pained groan, branches snapping and a loud rustling that grew quitter with every frantic heartbeat. Frantically, Jane turned in a circle, but Maura was nowhere to be see and the footsteps and now also yells were coming closer.

Just when Jane was about to believe that the ground had opened and swallowed Maura, her eyes fell on the ground and she noticed a steep drop off to her right. She held back another yell for Maura and only seconds before a mountain of a man crashed through the brush, Jane disappeared into thin air.

At the crime scene…

"This might be my daughter, Officer! You still have no ID on this poor girl down there. I don't care what your regulations state. I want to see her. NOW!"

Officer Korsak was about to protest once again, but when he looked at the woman's face he suddenly could see all the pain and fear in it. For a moment his mind wandered to his own wife, sitting at home and waiting for him to come safely back to her. What would he himself do if they had kids and one of them had gone missing? He didn't need to think too long to answer this question and almost on its own, Korsak's hand rose and he invited Angela to come with him.

"Thank you." The woman whispered heartfelt, immediately starting to walk to the throng of people standing around with flashlights and notepads.

Angela felt a warm hand landing on her arm, slowing her down slightly.

"Please, Mrs. Rizzoli. Try to stay close to me and walk only where you are allowed to."

Absentmindedly Angela nodded, but slowed down anyway. She wasn't sure if it was because of what the Officer had said, or because suddenly the fear doubled in intensity and she was starting to feel lightheaded. What would she do if it really turned out to be Jane?

The closer she got to the covered form on the ground, the more sick Angela felt.

When finally, after only a few more hesitant steps, she was standing in directly next to the white cover, Angela swallowed and nodded to Officer Korsak.

Now or never, she thought. I need to know.

Like in a dreamlike state, Angel watched Korsak bent down slowly, taking the edge of the white sheet in between his fingers and pulling it back to reveal the poor soul lying under it.

A gasp escaped her and tears simply started to stream down her cheeks.

"It's not her."

In the woods…

"Maura!" Jane whispered, while frantically crawling over the leaf-covered ground. She felt her skin tear on more than one occasion and her knees were burning from the abuse. The fall had been relatively mild, but still there were some bumps and bruises Jane didn't appreciate right now. Her main concern though was Maura. She wasn't answering her and the possibility of the girl being hurt was rising from second to second.

"Maura, answer me. The bad men are gone." Jane tried again, fully aware that it was a half lie. She didn't know where the men were. True, they didn't seem to have followed them but that didn't have to mean anything. Just when she felt tears threatening to gather in her eyes, Jane hurt a small whimper. Immediately she picked up her crawling pace and moved towards the faint sound.

When she found her, Jane almost fell over Maura's body, lying prone on the ground, her hands clutching at her shoulder.

"Maura! Are you hurt? Did you break something in the fall?" Jane was frantic with worry. Obviously, she had had experience with providing first aid to her younger brother's bruises after they fell from a bike or tripped over their feet, but broken bones? So over her limits!

She was pulled out of her panicking thoughts by a low mumble from beneath her.

"What? Did you say something?"

Scared to touch the smaller girl in fear of hurting her further, Jane only lowered her head to hear her better.

"Shot."

Jane paled, not needing any other explanation.

"Now this rockets right off of my experience scale."

tbc...


	13. Authors note

Hey guys!

I am terribly sorry for not updating in such a long time. My laptop crashed a few months ago and with it all my notes pre-written chapters for the story have been lost. I have to admit that for a while after that my muse just simply said "bye-bye" and I was really fruustrated, not able to begin with the reconstruction of my ideas for this story. Now I am working really hard on doing just tthat and I hope that by the end of the month I will be ready to continue.

As I stated previously, I will never abandon a story and just not finish it. I know how hard it is for readers so even if I take a longer break I WILL come back to it.

I hope you guys can forgive me and that you will be ok with waiting for just a little bit longer!

Greetings and lots of love

AbbyF809


	14. Chapter 12

Hello guys! Here comes the first recreated chapter. I hope the writing style isnt too much different from the previous chapters and that you will enjoy it:)

Disclaimer: See Prologue

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Chapter 12

"W…what…what do I do, Maura? I don't know what to do!" Janes panicked whisper penetrated the darkness and also Maura's foggy mind.

The pain was a lot worse than the few times she had been pushed by other kids and skinned her knee and elbow. Never had she felt such a deep-reaching pain before and for a few moments Maura was sure she wouldn't survive it. The darkness grew almost overwhelmingly and the ringing in her ears started to finally quiet. A whisper of some sorts became louder though, pulling her from the comfortable oblivion.

"Maura! If you dare to die on me, I swear I will never ever talk to you again."

Maura wanted to tell Jane how ridiculous this demand was. If she died, Jane wouldn't be able to talk to her anyway, so why would she even…suddenly everything grinded into a violent halt in Maura's mind. Die? Oh, right. The pain. Maura could feel herself grimace when she tried to pry her eyes open, but managed only slits.

"Jane?"

"Oh thank god, Maura!" Jane gasped suppressing the urge to hug the other girl. "You are bleeding Maura. I need to stop it. What do I do?"

For a second she felt ridiculous for asking this much younger girl for what to do, but if Jane was known for something then it was to use all sources available. In this case, the only source was Maura.

"My shoulder…hurts." Maura informed Jane almost calmly, making the other girl panic even more.

"You've been shot, Maura. It's supposed to hurt. Are you awake?" While she was talking, Jane had noticed the blond girl's eyes closing again. "Maura!"

Sighing once again in relief when Maura's eyes cracked open again, Jane lowered herself even further, so that her face was only inches from Maura's.

"I need to bind this wound, right? Talk to me Maura."

While Jane was doing her best to get some kind of confirmation from Maura, the injured gir marvled at the warmth that was spreading through her rapidly cooling body. It was such a more pleasant feeling than simply her cozy blanket in her bed. _I guess that's why people say that human warmth is more important than anything else._ Maura wasn't even sure if she really ever had heard anyone saying something like this but somehow her brain thought so and Maura agreed.

"Maura? Are you listening to me?"

Maura wanted to be honest with her new friend and tell her that she hadn't heard a word the girl had said, but she found her mouth to be as dry as a dessert and her tongue too heavy to form any words, so she simply shook her head.

"Ok…it's ok." Jane's voice suddenly lost the panicked toned and transformed into a soothing and caring sound. "I will rip my shirt and tie it around your shoulder, alright? It will hurt, ok? But try not to move."

Maura's eyes started to close again but sprang open when the ripping sound of material cut through the night. Only seconds later her shoulder felt as if someone was ripping it from her body and whimper left her mouth, together with a bunch of tears, leaking from her eyes on their own accord.

"Shhh…I'm almost done."

With trembling hands Jane pressed the material against the bleeding wound. The sound the little girl was doing when Jane started to tie piece of shirt around her shoulder were almost painful to Jane herself. With every whimper, with every tear, jane felt a step in her heart, wanting nothing else but take the girl into her arms and hug her as tightly as she could dare without hurting Maura even more. Her brothers always wanted a hug after an injury and although Jane herself wasn't too fond of being hugged, she instinctively knew when other needed this kind of comfort.

Jane cringed when she felt the warm and sticky substance cling to her hands when she tied the last knot on the makeshift bandage.

"I'm done, Maura." Jane whispered, watching the honey blond girl sniffle and clench her hands into fists. "How are you feeling?" she added, feeling slightly dump asking that question, but she wasn't sure what else to say or do. But when her ears picked up a small, quivering voice saying "I'm scared.",

Jane couldn't hold back her own tears anymore

"I know, sweetheart. Me too." Climbing over Maura's small body, Jane sat down at Maura's uninjured side and carefully picked the girls upper body up, hugging her to herself.

Now that the first scare was over, Jane suddenly remembered the reason why they were in this situation.

"Maura, we need to hide. " she whispered into blond hair and shifted into a slightly more comfortable position, now kneeling on both her knees, still holding Maura in an embrace.

"I'm tired." Maura answered into the taller girl's neck, hoping for a quick nap.

Hearing this, Jane pulled slightly away and took a look at Maura's face. Although it was dark, Jane was sure she could see Maura's face turning an even paler shade of white.

"You are not going to pass out on me, Maura." Jane felt bad for using her stern I-will-smack-you-over –your-head-if-you-don't-do-what-I-want-voice, but if Maura lost consciousness and became a deadweight, she wouldn't be able to hide them properly.

"Yes, thar's it honey, keep your eyes open and help me get you up from this cold ground."

With a grunt from Jane and a few shed teardrops on Maura's part, the girls finally managed to get up from the damp forest floor and get a good look around. Jane knew she didn't have too much time to waste before Maura's strength would wither away, so she hastily pulled the smaller girls arm around her neck and wound an arm of her own around Maura's waist to hold her steady.

"Now we only have to search for a hiding spot, right Maura?"

Except a little moan, Jane didn't get an answer.

"I guess that means I am right." Jane snorted and started to walk into the first group of high bushes that she could make out in the darkness.

Rizzoli home…

"You looked at the body?"

Franks voice boomed through the house.

"Of course I did." Angela said rather tastily. "Would you have preferred to wait a few days until they compared the DNA samples? Not knowing if it was our daughter lying in that morgue?"

"They should have seen it wasn't her." Frank muttered, sitting down in a chair with a huff. "You obviously could see it wasn't her."

"Does it really matter now? I feel sorry for that poor dead child but I am so relieved that now I have certainty that Janie is still out there somewhere…alive."

Angela sighed and sat down in a wooden chair right next to her husband. Staring out of the kitchen window, Angela realized it would be getting light outside soon. There was still no information on Jane and Maura and Angela was wondering how long it would take an abductor to formulate a ransom letter. If it was planned, certainly not long, but when Jane had been just an unplanned bonus maybe they would have to think about a new plan for a bit longer. Angela's eyes filled with tears when she thought about another possibility. If Jane was simply in their way…maybe they would just get rid of her?

In the woods…

For like felt hours but in reality were only ten minutes or so, Jane started to feel her arms getting numb from supporting Maura who was getting heavier and heavier with every staggering step they took together. To Jane surprise and relieve, she hadn't lost consciousness yet though and was trying to match Jane's footsteps.

"It's not far anymore." Jane whispered into the blondes ear and smiling at Maura's quiet response.

"You don't even…know…where we are going."

Jane chuckled but didn't answer. What could she have said anyway? Maura was right, she didn't know where they were going, just away from the immediate danger. At least she hoped so.

After another few minutes of walking over uneven ground, Maura suddenly stopped, emitting a slight noise which Jane interpreted as pain but once she looked at Maura's face, reconsidered her interpretation. Maura looked…happy? Maybe she was hallucinating from bloodloss?

"Maura? What is it?"

"A house…" Maura's murmur reached Janes ears and she frown in confusion. Yap, certainly hallucinations.

"There is no house here, honey. We are in the middle of…"

Jane's explanation came to a grinding stop when she followed Maura's gaze into the distance and found two sparkling lights between the branches.

tbc...

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Let me know what you think;)


	15. Chapter 13

Hey guys! I won't bore you with my apologies for how long it took me to update, but now here it comes and I hope you'll like it. i hope you guys had a Merry Christmas by the way:)

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Chapter 13

Angela was shaking her head furiously when Korsak told her they would stop the search for the time being.

"I will not ALLOW you to give up on my little girl!" she shouted, very much aware of the fact that the whole precinct was able to hear her shouting.

"We are not giving up." Korsak told her loudly. "I wouldn't do that. But it's dark and we don't have enough manpower right now to do any good out there. We will continue in the morning."

Angela scoffed at him and thrusted her hands into her pockets in frustration.

"Don't think I am stupid." She murmured, still loud enough for Korsak to hear her though. "It's because you believe that this is an abduction. That's why you don't want to search for them anymore. Did Maura's parents finally get in touch with you?"

Korsak wanted to deflect this accusation, but sadly he had to admit that the was exactly the reason why his boss had pulled back all the searching officers. So trying not to start a lengthy discussion, he simply nodded.

"They did. In actual fact they confirmed the maid being employed and being known for inviting people into their house. They also mentioned that Maura had run off or tried to a few times already."

"When will they arrive?" Angela asked while pulling a chair closer to Korsak's desk.

"Well…they don't know…"

That statement froze Angela halfway down to the chair.

"What? How can they not know?"

"Apparently they have important business to attend to and we are to contact their lawyer about any ransom till they will be able to get here."

Angela stared wide eyed at Korsak, not believing what she'd just heard. Finally she sank down into the chair, sighing deeply.

"Well…I can understand why the girl tried to run away."

Korsak mimicked her position in his own chair, debating with himself if other news the Isles' had given him were in any way relevant to this case or not.

"There is one more thing though. " he started reluctantly. "Mrs. Isles explained to me that Maura is unusually…gifted."

"Gifted? Like in magic powers?"

Korsak let out a laugh, shaking his head.

"Not quiet. She is very intelligent. Has an IQ far over 150."

"So?" Angela knew that IQ wasn't the most important value in a human being, so she wasn't really sure what Korsak wanted to tell her with this information.

"Well…there is the possibility, if we believe in the abduction theory, that people wanted her for tests or experiments."

Angela looked horrified at the man in front of her.

"Tests? Experiments?" she gasped out. "Who would do something like that?"

"Lots of people if it is possible to earn some big sums of money."

Angela was tired of crying by now, but against her will, tears started to burn her eyes. What could she say to this? If Korsak was right and her daughter was aware of what was going on and why, she wouldn't stop at anything to protect the other girl. Sometimes Angela cursed her daughters strong sense of protectiveness, but other times she felt like bursting with pride. Now, she was simply terrified of never seeing her daughter again.

In the woods

By the time Jane and Maura reached the small wooden house, Jane was almost carrying Maura's whole weight and the blonds moans of pain had become more frequent and louder.

"Only a few more steps, honey. I promise you can lie down then."

Huffing and puffing, Jane dragged Maura right up to the wooden door and started to pound frantically against it. When no one opened and nothing stirred inside, she repeated the the knocking even louder, calling out for help.

"Dang it." Jane cursed loudly when nothing happened. Feeling defeated and also bone deep exhausted, she hung her head while trying to maintain her grip on an almost limp Maura.

"Try…handle."

Maura's warm breath when she spoke, made Jane shiver, as if her body remembered that it was actually pretty cold outside. And handle? Jane almost smacked her own forehead when she noticed that she hadn't tried to open the door yet. When her numb hand reached for the handle, Jane laughed quietly. How high were the chances for the door actually being left open? That would be almost like a miracle or even…

When the door popped open under Jane's hand, the girl felt like crying and laughing at the same time. Nudging the door open even further, Jane once again called out for help but when she didn't get an answer, she simply put one foot into the house.

The warmth felt almost overwhelming. Jane could feel her body starting to tingle, not painfully but still not entirely pleasant.

The house was a typical wooden shack but thankfully slightly upgraded with brown furry rugs and a cozy looking red sofa. Janes natural curiosity begged her to explore the shack further but the now trembling girl at her side quickly distracted her from those urges.

"C'mon, Maur. Let's lie you down now, ok?"

It worried Jane greatly that the little girl didn't answer her. Granted, it had been a rhetorical question but Maura wouldn't have recognized that and answered. Glancing at Maura's face while dragging her to the sofa, Jane frowned. Beads of sweat had appeared on Maura's smooth skin and the color had morphed into something like a pasty white with a dap of gray.

"You don't look so hot." Jane stated matter of factly, letting Maura sit down on the sofa, maneuvering her gently to lie down.

"I'm so…thirsty." Maura whimpered and to Jane's shock, she could see tears gathering in the smaller girls eyes and starting to fall over her cheeks. She could deal with crying kids. And she could deal with injured kids. But she hated dealing with both simultaneously. Not because she felt overwhelmed or anything but simply because those cries were tearing at her heart and making it really hard for Jane to concentrate on the injury. She always told her brothers to either man up and stop crying or at least do it quietly. Most people thought she was simply unkind and cold and Jane wasn't really keen on telling them otherwise. There was still her reputation that she didn't want to lose.

"I'll be right back." She finally told Maura, patted her arm and stood up from her crouching position. Jane looked around the room, hoping to find something to drink or at least a working sink.

Not seeing anything valuable at first glance, Jane looked back down at Maura and forced a gentle smile onto her face.

"I will rummage around a bit, okay Maura? Just keep your eyes open and talk to me."

Although Jane saw Maura bravely nodding at her, obviously trying to swallow down her tears, jane knew that the chances of the girl staying conscious were fading with every further minute.

With a heavy heart, Jane turned finally from Maura and took a few steps further into the room. Although there was a tiny bed side table lamp on, the room was very dimply lit and Jane tried to be as careful as possible when she took a few more steps away from Maura. But hearing the deafening silence around her, she added a quick:

"Talk to me Maura."

A rustling alerted Jane of Maura's movement and a quiet, slurred "Ok" made her sigh in relief.

"Tell me something about your parents." Jane suggested while starting to open a few cupboards.

"They…are busy." Maura said, grimacing when a stab of pain worked itself from her shoulder through her whole body. "A lot…" she added when she found a better position for her injured shoulder.

Jane hmed distractedly when her hand collided with a bottle in a small cupboard. Pulling on it she found it stuck between a ridiculous number of food cans. At least they wouldn't starve in here.

"My father is always busy too. He has a plumbing company. Nothing big, but I get to see him only one or two hours a day and on the weekends."

Finally the bottle came loose and Jane almost let it fall when it came catapulting out of the cupboard. To her disappointment it wasn't water or juice but some cheap wine. Great.

"I…sometimes miss my parents." Maura told her from the other side of the room, distracting Jane from the small print on the bottle.

"I wouldn't say that I miss my dad really. I mean I do get to see him every day. It's just that sometimes I wish for him to be home more often to do stuff with us other kids get to do with their dads. Where do your parents work?"

Slowly Jane made her way back to the couch, sitting down on the edge and looked expectantly at the younger girl. It was obvious that Maura was struggling to keep her eyes open and the makeshift bandage on her arm was starting to show signs of seeping through blood, which made Jane wince inwardly. They were running out of time. That much she knew.

"Maura?" Jane finally asked when the other girl just looked at her, not answering.

"Mhhh?"

Worriedly Jane brushed a stray blonde hair out of Maura's face and let her thumb caress the smooth cheek under her hand.

"Where do your parents work?" she asked again, loss for any other things she could say to keep Maura awake.

"Oh…" Maura gasped. "Right…I didn't answer yet." Under normal circumstances Maura would have been mortified to find herself forgetting things, but somehow this situation right now seemed funny and she grinned weakly.

"My father is a Professor and travels around the world giving lectures." She hesitated, gauging Janes reaction, but continued after a moment of silence. "My mother is an artist. I don't get to see her too often."

Jane felt a twinge of sympathy for the young girl, but before it could develop into a mushy scene, suddenly her face grew pale and she stared at Maura.

"Maura….where are your parents now?"

"Not home."

Jane groaned inwardly, paling even further. Jane knew that her own mother was probably moving heaven and earth to find her, but she also knew that people from the lower classes didn't have as much influence as rich families. Undoubtedly, Maura came from a rich family with a lot of influence and the search might have been taken a lot more seriously than the search for a work class tomboyish girl who might have simply run away.

"Jane? You ok?"

Jane forced a smile on her face and patted the blonde's hand.

"Yeah, don't worry. Everything is going to be fine."

tbc...

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I want to thank you so much for the reviews you guys left for the last chapter! You are amazing!


	16. Chapter 14

Hey there guys:)

I've got a new computer and wow, my muse came somehow back to me:) I wrote this chapter in only one hour and although I dont think it is as good as the "old and lost" one was, it is still a chapter and I hope you will enjoy it. I am sorry for any spelling (and other) mistakes, I still have to get used to the new kayboard;)

Disclaimer: See Prologue

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Chapter 14

Silence had settled over the little shack a few minutes ago. Jane had not been able to find any water for Maura and herself and the only useful thing she had spotted was an old walkie-talkie. Excited she had tried to use it but nothing except static noise talked back to her. Shortly after reassuring Maura that everything would be alright, the injured girl had fallen asleep despite her best efforts to stay awake. For a few minutes Jane had panicked, thinking that the girl was dead, but thankfully she caught a glimpse at Maura´s chest and saw it rising and falling, calming down immediately.

Slightly alarmed by the fact that she hadn't found anything to eat or drink, Jane finally took a seat next to Maura and started to play around with the walkie again. From time to time she glanced back at the sleeping girl, frowning when she noticed sweat starting to appear on the girls forehead. Gently Jane put a hand on her skin and discovered it being much cooler than what she had expected. Why would she sweat when she was cold? Jane cursed under her breath. She really should have read some more books, maybe she would be able to help Maura now.

Sighing, Jane's gaze drifted to the still blood seeping wound. The flow of blood had slowed down considerably, but the crimson liquid was still gathering under Maura's arm from time to time, soaking everything it came in contact with.

Jane's nose scrunched up in disgust. She's never had a problem with blood, but this amount was almost unnatural and made a stomach squirm slightly.

Looking away again, Jane pushed on the "talk" button on the walkie again and whispered into the microphone.

"Can anyone hear me? We need help!"

Again only static. Jane huffed in annoyance and turned her head to the single window, right over Maura. It was still dark but it felt like hours since Maura had explained to her what time it was according to the stars and she was sure than soon the sun would rise and maybe then someone would finally find them. Hopefully not the murderers.

"Try…frequency!"

Pulled out of her thoughts, Jane's eyes fell on Maura, who had her eyes still closed but a deep frown had appeared on the face. Although Jane was relieved to hear her friend's voice again, she also was starting to feel fed up with seeing the girl in pain. Jane could almost feel it herself for some reason and it did not feel very comforting.

Gently Jane covered Maura's ice cold hand with her own, squeezing it to convey some form of comfort.

"What do you mean?" she finally asked.

"The knob…on top…you need to set a frequency."

Looking down, Jane stared at the knob on top of the walkie, which she had eyed already an hour ago but couldn't figure out what it was supposed to do. Her only experience with walkie talkies was with the toy ones her parents had given their children for Christmas two years ago and there was no knob to turn on it.

"I tried." Jane told Maura with a sigh. "I turned it around like a maniac but nothing happened.

Jane was happy to see a smirk appearing on Maura's lips, before the blondes eyes opened into slits.

"You turn it slowly…only…a fraction of an inch." Maura took a deep breath despite the pain it caused her. "You try out…different frequencies." There was a glimmer of hope penetrating Maura's muddled mind. With a walkie-talkie you were almost always able to reach someone, given enough time and enough frequency changing. Of course you could never be sure whom you would reach, but someone was better than no one in their dire situation.

Once she hurt Janes eager "ok" and the clicking of the walkie, Maura started to take stock of her bodies' status. Toes: movable. Legs: slightly stinging from several scratches but other than that in one piece and attached. Hips: Painfully sore but moveable. Stomach: Certainly hurting from emptiness and stress but not punctured. Chest: Constricted from pain and stress and most likely bruised ribs. From what she had no idea, but she would ask Jane later on. Arms: well…better not go there. Head: Slight confusion and dizziness and a painful throbbing. General feeling: Cold and pain.

If Maura had had enough strength to gasp she would have when the realization set in that she was most likely loosing too much blood. Jane had obviously bound the injured arm correctly since the pressure of the piece of cloth was cutting of the majority of the blood flow to her hand, making it numb, but there is only that much that this method could help. It was only prolonging the inevitable end. A loud static crackling pulled her out of her fatalistic thoughts, turning her attention back to Jane. Poor Jane, Maura thought. If it hadn't been for her spying, Jane wouldn't be in this situation right now. Jane would have never met her and wouldn't have had to run after her and see the murder taking place. Maura closed her eyes tightly, feeling very much confirmed in her believe that she was just too much trouble for anyone around her and simply not worth trying to befriend her. Trouble…she scoffed in her head. This was more than trouble. This was a life threatening situation and the only thing keeping her from going insane with guilt was the fact that not Jane had gotten hurt bit Maura herself. Maybe it was a punishment for pulling Jane into this situation…for trying to befriend her….for intruding in her life.

"Maura? Are you ok?"

"Yes." No need to worry her, Maura though, keeping her eyes closed.

"You don't look ok." Jane stated bluntly, moving her face closer to Maura's, studying her expression carefully. "Is it the pain? Is it getting worse?"

"No." the blonde whispered. "It's actually getting more distant now."

Jane didn't know if this was supposed to make her feel better or not. Less pain might be a good thing but shouldn't Maura make a happy face when the pain was fading? Maura's face did not look happy. Rather the opposite.

"Are you honest with me, Maura?"

"I physically can't lie… so yes."

Jane's brow furrowed and her hand once again found Maura's.

"Not telling the whole truth is still lying, you know that right?" At least that's what her Ma has been telling her for years and somehow Jane felt shocked to now repeat her mother's "parent-talks" to someone else. But hey….if it would help to find out how Maura really was it was worth it.

Jane could see Maura peeking at her from under her eye lashes and she had to gulp down the smile that threatened to come out.

"Well…my arm is starting to feel numb, so the pain is starting to fade."

"And the rest of your body?"

The pause told Jane it wasn't a positive answer she would get.

"I am cold. And a bit tingly. And I feel nauseas."

Jane again gave the cold hand under hers a comforting squeeze, before letting her thumb move over small knuckles.

"I couldn't find any other blankets. But I once saw in a movie that cuddling helps."

"It's the natural body heat…" Maura started to explain but found herself to exhausted to continue. Before she was able to gather enough strength to say another word, she felt a burst of heat at her left side. Mindful of the injured arm, Jane had maneuvered her body right next to Maura's, allowing the smaller girl to lean into her back.

"Feel free to steal as much warmth as you want." Jane chuckled. "I'll be checking out the frequencies."

Somewhat hesitantly Maura leaned into Jane's warm back and although her arm was starting to hurt again from all the moving around, the warmth that was seeping through her skin into her body felt like bliss.

"Thank you." She muttered, closing her eyes again.

Maybe she wasn't worth befriending, but Maura decided, itching hives or not, to keep it to herself for now.

Boston Police Department….

"We can't do anything more than wait for ransom demands." Korsak explained, although the words got almost stuck in his throat.

"What do you mean you can't do anything else? Are you crazy?" Angela's voice once again boomed through the whole department, waking up at least one intern. "We are talking about the lives of two innocent children here. You can't just sit around, doing nothing but wait!"

Angela felt rage taking over her body and when she suddenly heard a loud crash, she was surprised to see all the items from Korsak's desk lying on the floor and her own hand stinging.

"For Pete's sake, calm down!" Korsak bellowed finally, jumping up from his chair and rounding his table.

"We are doing everything we can…"

"The hell you are doing!" Angela cut him off. "You should be out there looking for them, turning every single stone and house to find them!"

Tears were starting to fall from her eyes and she swiped them away angrily.

"It's 5.43 a.m. and my baby is out there all alone, most likely fighting for her own life and for the life of a girl she barely knows. I can't just sit around, don't you understand that?"

The silence that followed was ear deafening. Almost oppressing and painful on Angela's ears. No one dared to move until finally a wide eyes Korsak bent down and started to gather his belongings and depositing them back on his table.

"I won't lie and tell you that I know how you feel right now. I can imagine it though and I can also understand why you are desperate to find you daughter. But do you really thing that we will be able to randomly find her out on the streets?"

Before Angela could start a new tirade again, Korsak held up a hand with a walkie-talke in it, that he had just retrieved from under the table.

"Of course we have people looking for her out on the streets, regardless of how small the chances are to find her."

Angela sheepishly looked down at her feet, just to sink down onto the chair standing right behind her a moment later.

"I'm sorry…I just…"

"I know." Korsak whispered, patting the desperate woman's arm.

"Mrs. Rizzoli, I am in contact with every single officer on this case and I will not hesitate a second…"

The walkie talkie in Korsak's hand came suddenly to life, spouting out static noise in a random pattern.

Both Angela and Korsak looked at the device expectantly but were disappointed when no voice could be heard.

"Odd." Korsak commented, checking the frequency on the display. "It's not our frequency."

Scratching his head, Korsak sat the walkie down, scribbling the numbers down on a piece of paper. Gesturing to a passing officer, he told him to check the frequency for him.

"It's most likely a child playing around with their toy walkie." The young officer informed Korsak. "Happens all the time." He added, walking away with the paper in hand.

Korsak tapped his fingers against his leg. A child.

Taking the walkie into his hand, he pressed the "talk" button.

"Hello? Can someone hear me?"

tbc...


	17. Chapter 15

Hello again after a long while:)

I actually dont have too much to say this time (for once;)) but I hope you*ll enjoy the chapter and slowly start preparing to reach the end of the story. I guess there will be two or three chapters more to come and I do have already a new story idea for Maura and Jane:)

 **Disclaimer: See Prologue**

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Chapter 15

"You heard that, man?"

"yeah." A short pause filled with heavy breathing and rustling leaves in the winds. "What should we do?" Another pause, but shorter and broken by a sharp laugh.

"You're asking me? _You_ started running after them. I would have let them go. Children are always messy."

"It's my fault now? You were supposed to keep an eye on our surroundings while I did the deed."

Snorting loudly, the smaller man shook his head.

"We don't have a choice know. The blonde can identify us. We need to get to them before the police does."

"Good thing I left the walkie on, eh?"

The smaller man rolled his eyes and smacked his brother's head.

"We don't have any time for your bragging. Get me the map from the car and find me the shack they were talking about."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

For the last five minutes Jane hadn't heard anything from the police or her mother. Now, with the relieve pulsing through her veins, she turned to Maura, trying to wake and prepare her for their rescue.

"Maur? You gotta wake up honey. They will come for us soon and we will bring you to a hospital where they will patch you back together."

A low, pained groan left the blonds lips, but she didn't stir a muscle. Jane bent over the girl to be able to see her face better and what she saw made her frown once again with worry.

"Maura?" trying to call her again, Jane placed a hand on Maura's forehead, which was damp with perspiration and hotter than Jane had anticipated.

"You're running a fever, Maura." Jane informed the still unconscious girl, just to not feel completely alone and scared. "But don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you and the doctors will make you feel better in no time." While she was talking, Jane kept on caressing the damp blond hair and from time to time she could feel Maura shudder underneath her gentle touch.

With her free hand Jane clicked on the walkie talkie talk button.

"Ma?"

For a few seconds there was nothing but then her mother's, now calmer voice sounded through the shack.

"Yes, sweetheart. I'm here. You ok?"

"Maura isn't doing so good, Ma."

Jane couldn't believe she was actually searching for comfort. From her mother. Jane was independent and liked to believe herself to be brave. Protecting her brothers and herself and if need be even her mother. She knew that being so young she couldn't actually do too much but she would do anything in her power to keep harm away from her family and friends. In the process of doing so, she didn't like to be comforted. She could accept help, but unnecessary comfort which would just break her focus was not something she usually was seeking. But this situation she found herself in was admittedly way bigger than her and a lot scarier than anything she'd ever experienced. With a confusion Jane admitted to herself that as long as Maura had been awake and talking, Jane had felt somewhat safe. Although the blond girl hadn't actively done anything to protect her, at least not while Jane had been conscious, Jane still felt a warm sense of comfort and safety around her. Weird, she thought, but any further considerations were cut off by her mother voice.

"Make her feel comfortable."

"But she's unconscious. She doesn't even react when I talk to her."

"She'll hear you." Her mother sounded so sure.

"How?"

"It's the vibrations. When you talk and are close enough to someone, they will feel you talk and it calms them down even if they can't hear you."

"Wow, Ma." Jane breathed, genuinely impressed. "I didn't know you knew stuff like that."

Her mother chuckled lightly. "I am your mother, Jane. I know everything."

At that jane rolled her eyes and put the walkie away. She had to admit that she felt a whole lot better though. Her eyes landed once again on Maura. She was lying on her side, facing Jane and rolled into a tiny little ball. Jane sighed, moved closer and carefully lay down next to the girl.

"Well…who would have thought I'd ever readily follow my Ma's suggestions ever again?"

Maura stirred and seemed to want to scoot closer but moaned in pain when she started to move.

"Shhh…" Jane cooed, closing the gap between them, very carefully lying embracing the younger girl.

"Everything is going to be ok."

Maura's had nestled into Janes throat and Jane was reminded of her brother's last nightmare. With Maura being an obvious genius and the seemingly never ending treasure of vocabulary she had stored in that massive brain, made Jane forget that Jane was practically still a baby. Ok, maybe not a baby, but she was only a year older than Franke and Jane perceived him as her BABY-brother. He was so much more of a baby than Maura, but still. She was young and needed someone to look after her.

Gently Jane pulled a damp lock of hair from Maura's face.

"You'll be ok." She whispered. "And then we will play with my cats. You can visit them whenever you want. I will even go out with you and search for street cats. Promise." Jane snorted softly. "And I'll teach you how to understand jokes. And how to protect yourself from bullies." Sighing loudly, Jane shook her head lightly. "Scratch that, I will protect you from bullies."

Pretty happy with her promise, Jane fell silent, occasionally playing with a few strands of Maura's hair.

Her ears perked when a faint cracking reached them. For a moment she wondered what it was, but then she realized that it was the Walkie that she had placed next to the bed. Probably her mother was trying to contact her but didn't know how to operate the device. The crackling stopped for a second and started again but in between Jane heard something that seemed a little bit odd to her. Men talking. Their voices sounded a little muffled, but she was sure it was twi men having a conversation.

Gently Jane extracted herself from Maura and took the Walkie into her head. Holding it right next to her ear.

Snip bits of the conversation drifted into her ear and her eyes widened.

"When we get….need to surprise the…"

"Are you sure…"

"Of course I…we had…conversation….want to get away…have to kill…"

Jane almost let the Walkie fall when she heard the word kill. The voices were vaguely familiar to her and together with what they said, Jane was certain that she was listening to those two brutes that had kidnapped Maura and her. They know where we are, was Janes panicked first thought when she frantically looked around, not even knowing what she was searching for. The second though was a little bit less frantic but still alarmingly worrisome. We need to get out of here.

XXXXXXXX

Angela, frantic with happiness and fear, tried to dial the phone to reach Frank and tell him the great news. Of course her shaking fingers misdialed at least three times in a row and when she finally got a signal beeping into her ear, she almost laughed out loud.

"Rizzoli."

"FRANK! Frank they found them!"

"Oh my…where…is she with you? Did you see her?" Frank asked excitedly.

"No, no, not yet." Angela answered. "They are somewhere in a Park…I…I forgot the name but they are about to get them. Maura is hurt."

"Maura?"

Angel sighed. "The little girl that disappeared with Janie? Really Frank…"

"Whatever, Ang. Our Jane will be home soon. I am so happy. Is she alright?"

"She said she is, but she was really concerned about…"

"You talked to her?" Frank yelled loudly. "Why didn't you say so? How did she sound?"

"She sounded tired and scared, but ok."

"Thank god…"

Angela could hear her husband's relief and smiled.

"Yes…Thank god it is over now."

tbc...

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A BIIIIG thanks to everyone who took the time to comment on the last chapter! You guys really keep me going!


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